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A new report shows a noticeable shift in U.S. users’ preferences. Young people are increasingly choosing TikTok, Reddit, and WhatsApp, while X continues to lose audience, according to Axios.
YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram remain the most widely used platforms among Americans, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from February 5 to June 18, 2025, among 5,022 respondents. YouTube is used by 84% of respondents, Facebook by 71%, and Instagram by 50%. Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) have much smaller audiences. However, unlike X, whose user share fell from 23% to 21%, Reddit is growing.
Currently, 26% of adults use the web forum compared to 18% four years ago. Reddit is most popular among users aged 18–29, about half of whom access the platform regularly.
YouTube is used by 95% of people under 30 and 92% of those aged 30–49. Meanwhile, TikTok is rapidly gaining ground – 63% of young Americans use the short-video service regularly, and half access it daily. Snapchat is also popular in this group, with 58% active users.
The report also highlights the growth of WhatsApp, now used by 32% of adults, up 9% since 2021. The messenger is most popular among Asian and Latino users. Younger users are least likely to use Truth Social (1%), Bluesky (6%), or Threads (15%).
“The same fragmentation that changed news is now changing social media,” Axios emphasized.
