The Facts about the Top 5 Social Media Sites 2023
Social Media is omnipresent and each year more children and teenagers join the fray. The most recent study by Common Sense Media found that social media is an integral part of most teens’ lives with 45% using it every day.
On average, daily screen use went up among tweens to five hours and 33 minutes from four hours and 44 minutes, and to eight hours and 39 minutes from seven hours and 22 minutes for teens, from four years prior.
As a teacher, you probably use one or more of the social media sites but probably not all. ThinkFives thought it helpful to provide the basics of each – and fun facts along the way.
TikTok
TikTok is one of the largest social networks in the world and is used by students every day. For those unfamiliar, TikTok encourages users to create and edit short videos (about 10 to 30 seconds) to share with friends and the general community.
TikTok has its advocates in education but also its critics. It is so prevalent with students that it is hard to ignore. Many teachers who use social media are creating innovative lessons on TikTok. At the same time, you cannot discuss TikTok without understanding the ongoing concerns about the privacy and security of TikTok data and its foreign ownership. A number of government agencies are beginning to restrict TikTok access on their premises.
Fun Facts
- TikTok is the Most Popular App Among US Teens and Young Adults
- TikTok Has the Highest Social Media Engagement Rate Per Post
- More Than 1 Billion Videos Viewed Daily
- More Than a Third of TikTok’s Users Make $100k+ Annually
- Around 34% of all users post each day on Tiktok
Long before Elon Musk burst onto the Twitter scene, the word “tweet” was already a common verb in our lexicon (did you read what he just tweeted? ). Twitter is responsible for that. The platform hosts highly skimmable content for our tech-heavy, attention-deficit modern world.
Twitter has grown exponentially over the past 10+ years. Its purpose is to spread information fast, and while that information is not always serious, Kim Kardashian’s thoughts on makeup, for instance, it sometimes is, like when Iranian protesters used Twitter to assemble marches.
Fun Facts
- Every minute, approximately 350,000 Tweets are sent out (500 million a day)
- It was “Twttr” at first, not “Twitter”
- Twitter is apparently more addicting than alcohol or cigarettes
- Larry is the name of the well-known blue Twitter bird
- Around one-in-five U.S. adults (23%) say they use Twitter
Looking for a recipe, home decor or style inspirations? Hobby suggestions? Pinterest is the perfect solution with its visual discovery engine for finding ideas and like-minded pins.
With billions of Pins on Pinterest, it’s likely any teacher can find ideas to spark inspiration. There are thousands of education boards and pins on Pinterest – from posters for your classroom, to teaching tips, to the latest pedagogical recommendations.
Fun Facts
- 72% of Pinterest Users Are Women
- 83% of Users Make a Purchase After Seeing a Brand’s Content on Pinterest
- 98% of Users Say They’ve Tried Something New They Found on Pinterest
- Pins That Are Consistent with Landing Pages Have Higher Conversion Rates
- Showing Someone Using Your Product Results in 67% More Sales
When Facebook bought rival Instagram in 2012, there were fears it might be pulled into the escape velocity of Facebook. Quite the contrary today, Instagram thrives as one of the leading platforms world-wide with over a billion monthly users, most of them between the ages of 25-34.
In a ThinkFives survey last year, Instagram was the second most popular app among teachers. The National Center for Biotechnology Information found that most teachers started using Instagram for personal use and then found ideas and resources for professional development.
Fun Facts
- About 1,000 photos are uploaded to Instagram every second
- Over 4.2 billion “likes” happen on Instagram daily
- The number-one most-shared food on IG is pizza
- Women use Instagram 53.7% more than men in the US
- Instagram’s video content is twice as likely to see engagement as photo content
The granddaddy of social media, Facebook, started in 2006 when Mark Zuckerberg launched “The Facebook” to anyone over 13 with an email address. In social media years, that’s about 60 years old.
Still a world-wide powerhouse, it remains the social media of choice for teachers and just about everyone over 30 (yes, almost everyone with 2.74 billion monthly active users). In ThinkFives most recent poll, Facebook was the most popular app for teachers
Fun Facts
- Mark Zuckerberg’s First Idea Was a Site Called Facemash
- Facebook has 2.91 billion monthly active users
- 71% of Americans Use Facebook
- The average daily time people spend on Facebook Is 58 minutes
- $1,000 invested in Facebook 10 years ago is worth $2.2 million today
Resources
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/facebook-facts/359408/#close
- https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/
- https://websitebuilder.org/blog/instagram-statistics/
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/pinterest-facts/370926/#close
- https://www.yellowhead.com/blog/tiktok-facts-and-stats/
- https://facts.net/tiktok-facts/
- https://www.scrolldroll.com/15-interesting-facts-about-twitter/
- https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/05/05/10-facts-about-americans-and-twitter/
How do you feel about students using social media?
As a teacher, I use each site for different purposes. All have lead to ideas that I can use in the classroom! 🤩
It took me FOREVER to commit to figuring out Pinterest, and now I can’t imagine not having it to store all my recipes, projects, and ideas! Now I rely on it, FB, and IG only. I just can’t get on the TikTok train-I don’t need to waste any more time. But I do think it is incumbent upon us to teach our kids responsible use of social media. Thanks for the concise breakdown of these! 📖💻