In 2023, the top ten social media platforms surged to a staggering 1.98 trillion visits, reflecting a monumental 70.56% growth from 2019 to 2023.
The comprehensive study by Lifesight.io found a dramatic evolution and expansion in the social media sector, particularly emphasizing YouTube’s overwhelming dominance.
In 2023, YouTube’s staggering 1.35 trillion visits accounted for a significant 68.17% share of the total visits to the top 10 social media sites.
On the other end of the spectrum, with 19.0 billion visits, Quora occupies a more modest position in the hierarchy yet still reflects a noteworthy 60.25% growth, anchoring itself firmly in the global social media landscape.
The data was analyzed by growth patterns, user engagement, demographics, and device preferences, integrating global population data to understand country-specific social media activity. This comprehensive approach aimed to provide actionable insights for strategists and marketers in the evolving digital landscape.
This study on social media trends (2019-2023) involved using SEMrush for data collection, identifying the top ten social media sites based on annual visits.
Key Findings
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Five-Year Growth: Social media visits jumped from 582.9B to 1.98T, a 70.56% increase over five years from 2019 to 2023.
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2023 Visit Highs: Combined visits for the top 10 sites reached a record high of 1.98 trillion in 2023 with a global average of 165.0 billion monthly visits and 5.4 billion daily visits.
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Dominant Platforms: In 2023, YouTube led with 1.35T visits, followed by Facebook and Twitter.
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TikTok’s Rise: TikTok saw a dramatic increase to 41.8B visits, a growth of 60.15x since 2019.
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Top Visiting Countries: The US (436.1B), India (171.8B), and Brazil (123B) led in social media visits in 2023.
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User Demographics and Devices: Male users dominated at 68.65%, with most accessing social media on mobile devices (59.10%).
From 2019 to 2023, the top 10 social media sites saw a 70.56% surge in visits, climbing from 582.9 billion to 1.98 trillion. The peak was in 2021, likely driven by greater mobile device use during the pandemic, with monthly and daily averages reaching 165.0 billion and 5.4 billion by 2023. This period marked a 3.40-fold increase, signifying a dramatic rise in social media engagement globally.
10 Most Visited Social Media Platforms of 2023
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YouTube: Continued as the leader in the social media space with a massive jump to 1.35 trillion visits in 2023 from 263.3 billion in 2019, showing an 80.49% growth. This indicates YouTube’s dominance in video content consumption, with a significant portion of its user base (67% male) accessing content primarily through mobile devices (69.96%).
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Facebook: Although it lost its top spot, Facebook remained a key player with 216.4 billion visits in 2023, up 15.33% from 2019. This growth, albeit more modest, demonstrates Facebook’s enduring relevance in social networking, with a fairly balanced gender distribution and almost equal use of desktop and mobile platforms.
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X (Twitter): Exhibited notable growth, with visits soaring to 112.9 billion in 2023, a 63.19% increase from 41.6 billion in 2019. This reflects Twitter’s appeal for real-time content, with a slightly male-dominated user base and a significant preference for mobile usage (77.51%).
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Instagram: Capitalized on the visual content trend, escalating to 87.3 billion visits in 2023, a 62.40% increase from 2019. Instagram’s growth underscores its strength as a mobile-first platform, popular for visual entertainment with a gender distribution leaning towards male users (67%).
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Reddit: Emerged as a significant player with 81.0 billion visits in 2023, up 68.72% from 2019. This growth rate highlights Reddit’s role as a key platform for community-driven content, with a majority male user base and a high percentage of mobile traffic (72.27%).
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TikTok: Apart from being banned in many countries TikTok showed the most explosive growth among all platforms, with a 60.15 times increase in visits, reaching 41.8 billion in 2023 from just 0.7 billion in 2019. This surge underscores TikTok’s rapid rise as a mobile-centric platform, equally popular among male and female users.
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WhatsApp: Saw significant growth in visits, reaching 31.3 billion in 2023, a 68.72% increase from 2019. The platform is predominantly used by male users and has a surprising number of desktop users, indicating its broad appeal as a cross-platform communication tool.
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LinkedIn: Continued to grow steadily, reaching 20.5 billion visits in 2023, up 59.41% from 2019. This growth reflects LinkedIn’s importance in the professional networking space, with a majority male user base and a preference for desktop usage.
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Twitch: Nearly doubled its visits to 20.0 billion in 2023, marking a 48.14% increase. Twitch’s growth is indicative of the rising popularity of live streaming, especially within the gaming community, with a significant male user base and considerable mobile device usage.
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Quora: Experienced notable growth with visits climbing to 19.0 billion in 2023, a 60.25% increase. This growth rate shows the platform’s increasing relevance in knowledge sharing and information seeking, with a slight male dominance in its user base and a strong trend towards mobile usage.
Delve into the dynamic realm of social media with this in-depth analysis of its growth and trends from 2019 to 2023. To fully grasp the implications of these remarkable findings, we invite you to read this detailed report.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
