NBC Boston – News, Sports & Social Links
Meta’s Facebook remains the world’s dominant social media platform with 2.11 billion monthly active users as of mid-2025, according to data released by Sensor Tower. Despite the continued growth of rivals like TikTok, Facebook’s user base significantly outpaces that of its competitors, a position bolstered by its integration with Instagram and WhatsApp.
Whereas TikTok has experienced substantial growth, reaching 1.16 billion active users, it still lags behind Facebook and Instagram, which boasts over 1.5 billion monthly users. This data, reflecting the social media landscape as of May 2025, indicates a continued dominance of Meta’s platforms, despite TikTok’s popularity among younger demographics. Meta’s combined performance on Facebook and Instagram drove $42.3 billion in first quarter sales, a 35% increase year-over-year, enabling investment in artificial intelligence initiatives.
The growth rates of these platforms vary. Statista data indicates Instagram and Facebook have grown by 5.5% and 4.3% respectively since February 2024, while TikTok’s growth has been comparatively slower at 2%. LinkedIn has seen the most substantial year-over-year growth among major platforms, rising 17.1% since last February. Conversely, X (formerly Twitter) has experienced a decline in monthly active users, dropping 5.3% in the past year as other platforms attempt to attract users.
YouTube continues to be a leading platform, remaining the most popular though the Pew Research Center notes increasing adult usage of Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Reddit. The Pew Research Center survey, conducted between February 5 and June 18, 2025, involved 5,022 U.S. Adults and utilized a multimode approach including web, mail, and phone to ensure broad representation. A separate ATP survey of 5,123 U.S. Adults, conducted February 24 to March 2, 2025, focused on usage frequency of YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and X.
The evolving social media landscape also includes the rise of short-form video content, with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube adapting to compete with TikTok’s format. Messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord are also experiencing growth and gaining popularity, according to Exploding Topics. The competition is driving innovation and adaptation across the industry, as platforms vie for user attention and engagement.