Study reveals social media population surpasses 5 billion globally

Approximately 266 million new users began using social media for the first time in 2023 | Photo by Sumaid pal Singh Bakshi on Unsplash+

Some people are total pros at living their lives on social media. It’s like they’ve set up camp in the online world and turned it into their personal playground. Being “chronically online” is perfectly fine, as long as it’s done responsibly.

And if you’re one of them, like any of us in this digital age really, then you’re one of the five billion people active on social media. This number was reported from a recent study conducted by media monitoring company Meltwater and social media agency We Are Social on Jan. 31.

While the study acknowledges the challenge of providing exact numbers due to potential identity variations and automated accounts, the billion count is still equivalent to over half of the global population or about 62.3 percent. 

It marks a significant 5.6 percent increase from the previous year, outpacing the 0.9 percent growth in the overall world population. The report also indicates that approximately 266 million new users began using social media for the first time in 2023.

“What’s more, that adoption rate actually accelerated further in the last three months of 2023, with Kepios analysis putting the average for the last three months of the year at 9.4 new users every second,” they add.

Despite the current divisive nature of social media, the study suggests that its prominence is set to persist and also sheds light on the ever-expanding digital landscape.

Meanwhile, the report highlights that Facebook claims the lion’s share of accounts with 2.19 billion users. Instagram follows closely behind with 1.65 billion accounts, and TikTok secures the third spot with 1.56 billion active users.