The State Of Social Media in 2023

According to Forbes, as of this year in 2023 an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media across the world. The number of social media users worldwide has swelled to a record 4.9 billion people globally. And this number is expected to jump to approximately 5.85 billion users by 2027.

The average user now owns more than two social media accounts. Their usage spreads across a staggering six to seven platforms every month. This highlights the need for businesses to take a multi-platform approach to social media marketing. It also shows that it is crucial for brands and companies to get a hold on how they’re marketing on social media and reporting user data. 

In 2022, Forbes valued the social media app market at $49.09 billion. The most used social platform is still Facebook with a current 2.9 million monthly active users across the world. Facebook counts for 53% of all social media site visits in the United States. This means Facebook remains an essential platform for marketers and businesses aiming to capture and engage American audiences. 

Each country has different stats on where and how people consume social media. Americans spend approximately 2 hours and 7 minutes daily on social media. To look at this usage from a lifespan perspective, that means that if the average person maintained this usage for 73 years, the end result would be an astonishing 5.7 years of their lifetime spent on social media platforms.

Read about more interesting social media statistics on Forbes.

This year in 2023, we saw Twitter drop 4% of its users when Elon Musk took over the company. With Elon Musk making moves in the social media industry, he spawned the biggest change yet for social media users. That change is Musk’s introduction of Twitter Blue which in turn, influenced the new Meta brand by Facebook to adopt the same subscription model. 

All year Facebook has been tripping over itself while morphing into Meta. Meta has simultaneously rolled out its own verification program to users that gives access to a blue check mark and exclusive features. This blue check on profiles was once a sought-after mark on Instagram and Twitter. We’ve all seen celebrities with this blue checkmark that indicated their account was important and official. Now anyone that wants the blue mark and likes the exclusive features they will have access. 

What can this mean for people who still want to use Social Media for free? The new paid monthly subscriptions will give users more security and control over their social media accounts which is designed to reduce the worry of account impersonation and being hacked. Whether or not, not being a premium member affects how well you show up in the channel feeds remains to be seen.