Despite years of predictions about Facebook's demise, new Pew Research data delivers a reality check: 71% of American adults still use the platform, with more than half checking it daily. The findings cement Facebook as one of the most enduring forces in social media, even as political divides reshape the entire landscape.
The social media obituary for Meta keeps getting written, but apparently nobody told America's users. Fresh data from Pew Research shows Facebook clinging to a massive 71% of American adults, making all those "Facebook is dead" takes look pretty premature. More striking? Over half of these users check the platform daily, suggesting engagement that would make any startup weep with envy.
YouTube actually takes the crown with 84% usage, but here's what's fascinating: these are the only two platforms with what researchers call "universal reach." While Instagram fractures along age lines and TikTok skews young, Facebook and YouTube somehow maintain broad appeal from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. That's the kind of demographic staying power that keeps Meta stock analysts bullish despite years of regulatory headwinds.
But the real story isn't Facebook's resilience - it's how dramatically the political landscape has shifted across platforms. Take X, formerly Twitter, where we're witnessing a complete partisan flip in real time. Two years ago, Democrats dominated the platform with 25% usage compared to just 20% for Republicans. Today? Those numbers have essentially reversed, with 24% of Republicans now active versus 19% of Democrats.
This realignment isn't happening in a vacuum. Elon Musk's controversial ownership and content moderation changes have clearly triggered a migration pattern that's reshaping the entire social media ecosystem. Democrats fleeing X are landing somewhere, and that somewhere increasingly looks like Bluesky, which despite its tiny 4% overall userbase shows a stark 8-to-1 Democratic preference.
Meanwhile, Truth Social continues operating as essentially a Republican-only social network, with 6% of GOP users versus just 1% of Democrats. These aren't just user preferences - they're digital political enclaves that mirror America's broader polarization.
The age demographics tell another compelling story about platform staying power. Instagram's 80% usage among 18-29 year olds drops to just 19% for those 65 and over, a generational cliff that should worry Meta executives planning for the next decade. TikTok, Reddit, and Snapchat show similar age-based fractures, but Facebook maintains surprising consistency across age groups.
