Pew’s Latest Social Media Report Shows X’s Staying Power In The U.s., Despite Competition

Threads and Bluesky still person rather a measurement to spell to drawback up pinch X successful nan U.S., according to information from Pew Research Center’s latest report released this week.

The investigation patient asked astir these smaller services for nan first clip and recovered they’re each utilized by conscionable nether 1 successful 10 U.S. adults aliases fewer.

While X is not 1 of nan largest societal networks successful nan U.S., it’s still nan 1 to hit wrong nan smaller marketplace of societal apps that attraction connected short, real-time matter posts that look successful a vertical feed.

This abstraction has seen accrued title since Elon Musk bought Twitter and rebranded it arsenic X successful October 2022, arsenic Musk’s changes to nan platform’s contented moderation policies and nan site’s rightward governmental displacement sent immoderate users looking for alternatives.

In summation to nan maturation seen by decentralized, unfastened root networks for illustration Mastodon and Bluesky, different startups launched would-be Twitter rivals for illustration Spill, Post, T2 (Pebble), and Hive. Many of these person since unopen down, however.

Pew’s information indicates really difficult X’s grip connected nan marketplace remains.

Even Meta, pinch each its resources and level power, hasn’t yet been capable to hit X pinch its competitor, Threads, nan study found.

According to Pew, 21% of U.S. adults said they person utilized X, compared pinch only 8% who person utilized Threads, and 4% who person utilized Bluesky. Truth Social, meanwhile, had attracted 3% of U.S. adults.

Despite this competition, X hasn’t seen overmuch of a gaffe successful usage complete nan years, according to nan report. For instance, Pew’s report connected U.S. adults’ societal media usage published astatine nan opening of past twelvemonth recovered that X was past utilized by 22% of U.S. adults. Its 2021 study showed Twitter (before its rebranding to X) was utilized by 23% of U.S. adults.

In different words, if X is declining, it’s been a long, slow drop.

This year’s study besides recovered that YouTube and Facebook proceed to beryllium nan astir wide utilized platforms by U.S. adults, pinch 84% and 71% saying they utilized them, respectively.

Meanwhile, 50% of U.S. adults said they utilized Instagram, 37% utilized TikTok, 32% utilized WhatsApp, 26% utilized Reddit, and 25% utilized Snapchat.

Many of these services person seen their take turn complete time, Pew noted. TikTok is up from 21% successful 2021, and Instagram, now utilized by half of U.S. adults, is up from 40% successful 2021. Around a 3rd of adults now usage WhatsApp, up from 23% successful 2021.

Reddit, which has go a darling of nan AI era acknowledgment to numerous content licensing deals, was utilized by only 18% of U.S. adults successful 2021, compared pinch 26% today.

Of course, each these figures look very different from U.S. teens’ societal media use, wherever YouTube remains No. 1, but is past followed by a different group of apical apps, including TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat.