social media continues to be a dominant force and an avenue of communications. The Pew Research Center conducted a survey of the social media landscape in 2018. The top preferred social media networks to use in the United States were Facebook and YouTube.

At the same time, Americans between the ages of 18 to 24 are heavy users of Snapchat. In addition, exactly 71 percent visit the social channel multiple times a day.

The Pew has been doing studies on social media use since the year 2012. For the most part, Facebook is the platform that gets the most usage and traction.

According to the survey, 68 percent now report as Facebook users, and three-quarters of them access the site on a daily basis.

YouTube stats, usage and demographics

Facebook may be a dominant platform, but the numbers for YouTube are impressive. The survey results confirmed that three-quarters of U.S adults use it. Furthermore, 94 percent of 24-year-olds are active on the video-streaming platform.

YouTube's popularity is in large part to the gaming videos created there along with music clips. These types of content are what users love to watch and share with others.

Usage of Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest LinkedIn and WhatsApp

Surprisingly, the microblogging social network, Twitter, dropped significantly its relevance for users.

In this year's report, Twitter usage was reported at 24 percent. In front, Instagram users were 35 percent while Pinterest usage was 29 percent. A younger social network, Snapchat, achieved 27 percent and LinkedIn finished ahead of Twitter at 25 percent.

The messaging service, WhatsApp, finished with 22 percent usage. It is especially popular in Latin America.

Latinos in the U.S make up a large segment of the population.

A lot of this may be attributed to the rise of fake news that appeared on Twitter during the 2016 American election. However, Facebook and YouTube have recently come under scrutiny by U.S government officials over Russian interference.

Pinterest remained a popular platform for women (41 percent) over men (16 percent).

LinkedIn still tailors to college graduates and high-income earners.

Facebook is the platform that commands the majority of use by a wide range of demographics. It is impressive that in its short company history it still has been able to maintain its lead over the rest of the pack.

Takeaway and conclusions

Demographics vary among the different social networks in the U.S. The global presence by Facebook has allowed it to maintain its top position, and newer platforms are showing signs of growth.

Can Facebook continue its dominance? So far the answer is yes. It will be interesting to revisit next year's study and see where usage will be at.
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