Adults under 30 use Snapchat 14 times as often as people 65 and older, at 56% against 4%. No other app splits the generations that sharply. YouTube sits at the other end, as the one platform every generation uses. These social media usage by generation statistics come from the Pew Research Center’s social media fact sheet. Pew based it on a survey of 5,511 US adults from January to June 2026.
Instagram and TikTok also split hard by age. Facebook has the smallest age gap of the five most used apps. To see this, we matched each Pew age group to a generation and built our own gap table. Gallup and Edison Research fill in teen screen time and total use.
How We Matched Pew’s Age Groups to Each Generation
Pew reports social media use by age, not by generation. So we lined up the age groups with Pew’s generation definitions. Pew places Millennials in 1981 to 1996 and Gen X in 1965 to 1980. Also, it treats anyone born from 1997 onward as Gen Z. Baby Boomers follow the Census Bureau span of 1946 to 1964.
Then we worked out ages for 2026. Gen Z adults turn 18 to 29 this year, which matches Pew’s youngest group exactly. Millennials turn 30 to 45, so they make up most of the 30 to 49 group. Gen X turns 46 to 61, which puts most of them in the 50 to 64 group. Finally, Boomers turn 62 to 80, so the 65 and older group is mostly Boomers plus a few older adults.
| Pew age group | Birth years for 2026 | Closest generation |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | — |
| Teens 13 to 17 (separate Pew survey, fall 2024) | About 2007 to 2011 | Younger Gen Z |
| 18 to 29 | 1997 to 2008 | Adult Gen Z |
| 30 to 49 | 1977 to 1996 | Mostly Millennials, some young Gen X |
| 50 to 64 | 1962 to 1976 | Mostly Gen X, some young Boomers |
| 65 and older | 1961 and earlier | Mostly Baby Boomers |
Social Media Usage by Generation Statistics for Each Platform
Pew asked adults whether they ever use each platform. The table shows the share in each age group. We added the closest generation in each column header.
| Platform | 18 to 29 (Gen Z) | 30 to 49 (Millennials) | 50 to 64 (Gen X) | 65+ (Boomers) | All adults |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| YouTube | 95% | 91% | 85% | 65% | 84% |
| 69% | 78% | 71% | 59% | 70% | |
| 79% | 64% | 41% | 21% | 51% | |
| TikTok | 65% | 45% | 31% | 11% | 37% |
| 37% | 39% | 36% | 20% | 33% | |
| 41% | 37% | 32% | 13% | 31% | |
| Snapchat | 56% | 33% | 13% | 4% | 26% |
| 40% | 35% | 18% | 6% | 25% | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 31% | 20% | 17% | 7% | 18% |
| Nextdoor | 10% | 21% | 19% | 18% | 18% |
| Truth Social | 1% | 3% | 6% | 4% | 4% |
Gen Z Adults: Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat Run Deep
Adults aged 18 to 29 use most platforms more than any older group. YouTube reaches 95% of them, and Instagram reaches 79%. Also, TikTok sits at 65% and Snapchat at 56%.
Reddit and X skew young as well. Some 40% of adult Gen Z use Reddit, compared with 6% of people 65 and older. So a brand chasing buyers under 30 has more channels to choose from than any other age group. For post ideas aimed at this crowd, see our list of Instagram captions for Gen Z.
Still, Facebook is not gone for this group. At 69%, it sits close to TikTok and ahead of Snapchat.
Millennials Lead on Facebook and WhatsApp
Facebook peaks with the 30 to 49 group. Pew found 78% of these adults use Facebook. That is the highest Facebook share of any age group. Also, WhatsApp peaks here at 39%.
Instagram reaches 64% of this group and TikTok 45%. So Millennials sit between Gen Z and Gen X on the newer apps. They are also the top users of Nextdoor, at 21%.
Gen X Leans on YouTube, Facebook and Messaging
For adults aged 50 to 64, the list narrows. YouTube reaches 85% and Facebook 71%. After that, use drops to 41% for Instagram and 36% for WhatsApp.
TikTok reaches 31% of this group. That is less than half the Gen Z share. However, Gen X uses LinkedIn at 32%, close to the 37% for the group just younger. Also, Truth Social peaks here at 6%.
Baby Boomers Use Fewer Apps, but Most Still Watch YouTube
Among adults 65 and older, 65% use YouTube and 59% use Facebook. Those two apps lead by a wide margin. Then comes Instagram at 21% and WhatsApp at 20%.
Nextdoor matters more to older adults than to the young. It reaches 18% of people 65 and older, compared with 10% of adults under 30. TikTok reaches just 11% of this group, and Snapchat only 4%.
The Generation Gap on Each App, by Our Math
We subtracted the 65 and older share from the 18 to 29 share for each platform. Then we divided one by the other to show how many times more common use is among the young. That gives a single number for how much each app depends on age.
| Platform | Gen Z adults minus Boomers (points) | How many times higher for Gen Z |
|---|---|---|
| — | — | — |
| 58 | 3.8x | |
| TikTok | 54 | 5.9x |
| Snapchat | 52 | 14.0x |
| 34 | 6.7x | |
| YouTube | 30 | 1.5x |
| 28 | 3.2x | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 24 | 4.4x |
| 17 | 1.9x | |
| 10 | 1.2x | |
| Truth Social | -3 | 0.25x |
| Nextdoor | -8 | 0.6x |
So Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat show the widest point gaps. Snapchat has the largest ratio by far. On the other hand, Facebook and YouTube reach every generation at fairly similar rates. Only Nextdoor and Truth Social reach a larger share of older adults than of young ones.
Teens and Younger Gen Z on Social Media
Pew runs a separate survey of US teens aged 13 to 17. It fielded the latest one from September 18 to October 10, 2024, for its teens and social media fact sheet. All of these teens belong to Gen Z.
| Platform | Teens who ever use it | Ages 13 to 14 | Ages 15 to 17 | Use it daily | Use it almost constantly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — | — |
| YouTube | 90% | 87% | 92% | 73% | 15% |
| TikTok | 63% | 55% | 68% | 57% | 16% |
| 61% | 43% | 72% | 50% | 12% | |
| Snapchat | 55% | 44% | 63% | 48% | 13% |
| 32% | 23% | 37% | 20% | 3% | |
| 23% | 17% | 27% | Not reported | Not reported | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 17% | 9% | 22% | Not reported | Not reported |
| 14% | 11% | 16% | Not reported | Not reported |
Instagram shows the biggest jump between younger and older teens. It reaches 43% of teens aged 13 to 14 and 72% of those aged 15 to 17. Also, Facebook has fallen hard with teens. In Pew’s 2014 to 2015 survey, 71% of teens used it. By the 2024 survey, that share was 32%.
Teen Girls Lean Toward TikTok and Instagram
Pew also splits teen use by gender. Girls use TikTok and Instagram more, at 66% each. For boys, those shares are 59% and 56%. However, boys lead on YouTube, at 93% against 87% for girls.
The gap grows for heavy use. Among teen girls, 19% say they are on TikTok almost constantly, compared with 13% of boys. On YouTube, it flips. There, 19% of boys are on almost constantly, against 11% of girls.
How Many Hours Teens Spend on Social Media
Gallup measured time spent as well. Its survey of 1,591 adolescents in mid-2023 found an average of 4.8 hours a day on social media. YouTube took 1.9 hours and TikTok 1.5 hours. Instagram took 0.9 hours.
Girls spent 5.3 hours a day, and boys spent 4.4. Also, time rose with age, from 4.1 hours at 13 to 5.8 hours at 17. Just over half of teens, 51%, spent four hours or more each day.
Total Social Media Use Across All Age Groups
Edison Research gives a wider view that includes people 12 and older. In The Infinite Dial 2026, 85% of Americans 12 and older said they currently use social media. Edison puts that at an estimated 246 million people. The share was 86% a year earlier, so overall use has gone flat.
Edison’s brand list differs from Pew’s because it asks about current use, while Pew asks about ever use. Among the brands Edison listed, Facebook came first at 68%, then Instagram at 54% and TikTok at 42%. Also, Reddit reached 38%, Pinterest 35% and LinkedIn 34%.
| Platform | Americans 12+ who currently use it (Edison Research) |
|---|---|
| — | — |
| 68% | |
| 54% | |
| TikTok | 42% |
| 38% | |
| 35% | |
| 34% | |
| Snapchat | 31% |
| X/Twitter | 30% |
| Discord | 21% |
| Threads | 15% |
How Platform Use Changed Between 2024 and 2026
Pew has asked the same question for years, so we compared its 2024 and 2026 results for all adults. Most platforms barely moved. However, TikTok rose from 33% to 37%, and WhatsApp rose from 30% to 33%. X went the other way, falling from 21% to 18%.
| Platform | All adults, 2024 | All adults, 2026 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — |
| YouTube | 85% | 84% | -1 |
| 70% | 70% | 0 | |
| 50% | 51% | +1 | |
| TikTok | 33% | 37% | +4 |
| 30% | 33% | +3 | |
| 32% | 31% | -1 | |
| Snapchat | 27% | 26% | -1 |
| 24% | 25% | +1 | |
| X (formerly Twitter) | 21% | 18% | -3 |
Over a longer stretch, the shift is bigger. Instagram reached 9% of US adults in 2012. Now it reaches 51%.
What These Numbers Mean for Your Marketing Plan
We would pick channels by the age of the buyer first. For buyers under 30, Instagram and TikTok reach about two-thirds or more, and Snapchat reaches over half. So short video belongs in the plan. Instagram keeps adding longer formats too, such as 90-minute videos.
For buyers from 30 to 64, Facebook and YouTube still reach seven in ten or more. Also, LinkedIn reaches 32% to 41% of every group under 65, which matters for B2B sales. For local services aimed at older homeowners, Nextdoor is worth a test, because it reaches nearly one in five adults over 50.
YouTube is the safest single bet across every generation. If you are weighing it as a channel, our breakdown of how YouTubers make money shows how creators earn there. Also, Pinterest buyers can be reached with Pinterest visual search ads.
Generational Social Media Questions We Get Asked
Which Generation Uses Social Media the Most?
Gen Z uses the most platforms. Pew found that adults aged 18 to 29 lead on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, X and LinkedIn. However, the Millennial-age group leads on Facebook and WhatsApp.
What Social Media Do Baby Boomers Use Most?
YouTube and Facebook. Pew found that 65% of adults 65 and older use YouTube and 59% use Facebook. No other platform reaches more than 21% of this group.
Is Facebook Only for Older People?
No. Pew found that 69% of adults aged 18 to 29 use Facebook. In fact, the 30 to 49 group uses it most, at 78%. Among the five most used apps, Facebook has the smallest age gap in our table.
What Is the Most Popular Social Media Platform for Gen Z?
YouTube, at 95% of adults aged 18 to 29 and 90% of teens. Among teens, TikTok has the most “almost constant” users, at 16%. Also, Instagram leads for older Gen Z adults at 79%.
How Does AI Chatbot Use Compare by Generation?
Chatbots split by age much like the newer social apps. Our AI chatbot usage statistics page breaks down chatbot use by age group with Pew’s figures.
Pew, Gallup and Edison Research Sources We Used
- Pew Research Center: Social Media Fact Sheet (Americans’ use of social media in 2026)
- Pew Research Center: Teens and Social Media Fact Sheet
- Pew Research Center: Defining generations, where Millennials end and Generation Z begins
- Gallup: Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day
- Edison Research: The Infinite Dial 2026
