Social Media Study 2026: Trends, Real Data and Formats That Work
Measure & Grow
Analytics
Competitors
Reports
Looker Studio
Hashtag tracker
Planner & execution
Planner
Approval System
SmartLinks
Artificial Intelligence Assistant
Inbox
Ads
Integrations
Product Updates
Instagram
TikTok
YouTube
Threads
Twitter
Twitch
Google Business Profile
Bluesky
Facebook
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Blog
Tutorials
YouTube Ads Bootcamp
Newsletter
Masterclass
Social Media School
Resources
Studies
TikTokSchool
MetriLAB AI
Instagram Expert School
Marketing Guides
Online Advertising Guides
Instagram
TikTok
YouTube
Threads
Twitter
Twitch
Google Business Profile
Bluesky
Facebook
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Analytics
Influencer Marketing
Content Marketing
AI Marketing
Email Marketing
Online Advertising
Home /
In 2026, social media sits at the center of how people discover brands, follow creators, decide what to buy, and spend their time online. For social media managers, creators, freelancers, and small brands, it also plays a real role in day-to-day work and income. Keeping up is less about chasing every new feature and more about understanding how people actually use these platforms over time.
To help you do that, we’ve pulled together these social media statistics every marketer should know in 2026. These insights are based on large-scale performance data and independent industry research. Use them to check your assumptions, support your strategy, and decide where your effort is best spent this year.
The statistics in this article come from a combination of Metricool’s social media studies and other trusted industry reports. Together, they reflect patterns across millions of posts and accounts, covering a wide range of platforms, formats, and audience sizes.
Many of these insights come from Metricool’s 2026 Social Media Study, which analyzed 39,762,999 posts from 1,059,949 accounts across all major platforms. We’ve also included relevant data from past Metricool studies and other trusted sources like Statista, Pew Research, and GWI. Together, these statistics give a clear, realistic picture of social media today.
You’ll find the full list of sources at the end of the article if you’d like to explore the data in more detail or trace any specific statistic back to its original study.
All of these stats point to the same thing: social media in 2026 is less about chasing reach and more about earning real attention. Video still leads, but not every video wins. Posts that spark saves, replies, shares, and DMs travel further. AI is everywhere, but it works best as support, not the voice behind your account. And while crowded platforms keep getting louder, quieter ones are giving brands and creators more room to stand out. Above all, community matters more than ever. Reach comes and goes, but people who come back are what hold a strategy together.
If you want to see how these numbers turn into real decisions, workflows, and content ideas, check out Metricool’s 2026 Social Media Trends video. It breaks down what’s changing, what’s working right now, and how to adapt without doing more than you need to.
(1) https://metricool.com/social-media-study/
(2) https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
(3) https://www.gwi.com/reports/social-media-trends
(4) https://metricool.com/ai-social-media-marketing/
(5) https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025/
(6) https://www.creatoriq.com/white-papers/state-of-creator-marketing-trends-2026
(7) https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-global-overview-report
(8) https://business.pinterest.com/en-gb/audience/
(9) https://www.statista.com/statistics/283119/age-distribution-of-global-twitter-users/
(10) https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/twitter-users-by-country
(11) https://www.statista.com/statistics/828092/distribution-of-users-on-twitter-worldwide-gender/
(12) https://blog.x.com/en_us/topics/company/2023/one-year-in
(13) https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/07/threads-is-nearing-xs-daily-app-users-new-data-shows/
(14) https://bsky-users.theo.io/
(15) https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/11/07/bluesky-and-x-users-plummet-year-after-trumps-election-win-truth-social-makes-small-gains/
(16) https://dataglobehub.com/youtube-statistics-and-insights/
(17) https://datareportal.com/essential-linkedin-stats
Post With Trending TikTok Music
Pick the top tracks driving views
Add the most popular songs on TikTok to your Business account posts directly from Metricool.
Share this article with anyone who might be interested!
Simplify Your Social Media Management
Plan, analyze, and grow—all in one platform.
Save time and take control of your social media strategy with Metricool. Schedule posts, track performance, and manage all your accounts effortlessly.
Related articles
YouTube Shorts Guide
BlueSky Marketing Guide: How to Grow Your Brand on BlueSky Social
2024 Short-Form Video Study: Comparing Shorts, Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels and TikTok Videos
Reddit Marketing Guide: Master “The People’s Platform”
Product
Resources
Studies
Company
