Social media
by generation
Key
Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
Born Born Born Born
1997-2005 1983-1996 1964-1982 1957-1963
Social usage stats
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Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
Consumption patterns by age and region
Average time spent on social media per day in h:mm
APAC Europe LatAm MEA North Am
2:31 2:25 1:53 1:29 3:02 2:28 1:35 1:05 3:58 3:44 3:17 2:56 3:55 3:49 3:13 2:55 3:07 2:37 1:51 1:13
Thoughts around usage Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
% who agree with the following
I worry I spend too much 36 28 23 16
time on social media
I am using social media 23 22
24 24
less than I used to
Age-specific attitudes
Why each generation uses social media Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
% who use social media for the following reasons
Keeping in touch with friends/family Finding inspiration for things
46 31
46 29
49 25
53 20
Filling spare time Following celebrities/influencers
42 27
37 23
33 17
29 11
Finding content Finding products to purchase
37 27
32 28
26 26
21 22
Seeing what's trending Avoiding missing out on things
33 26
31 22
25 18
19 14
Reading news stories Seeing content from your favorite brands
32 26
36 25
36 20
36 13
Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
Feelings of pressure and anxiety
Younger consumers feel more % of social media users in 7 countries* who agree with the following
pressure on social media, but
they’re more hopeful about
the positive impact of online
communities There is too much pressure
to be perfect on social media
45 35 31 22
# I feel using social media
causes me anxiety
?
23 22 13 9
! Opening up and building connections
% of social media users in 7 countries who agree with the following
I think social media is
good for society
35 42 34 25
I am more open about
how I'm feeling online
32 32 21 13
*This data is from our September 2021 Zeitgeist study among 9,223
social media users in Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, UK, USA
Each generation’s social profile
The platforms with the most daily hits
% outside China who visit/use these services at least daily
Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
TikTok, Telegram
Messenger and
Reddit’s popularity
has grown rapidly
since 2020
The fastest growing networks
Based on the % change, since Q4 2020, in the number of consumers who use these services
Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
TikTok +27% TikTok +65%
TikTok +45%
TikTok +31%
Telegram Messenger +19% Telegram Messenger +29%
Telegram Messenger +60%
Telegram Messenger +16%
Reddit +9% Snapchat +14%
Reddit +7%
Instagram +11%
The categories with the highest follower counts
% who follow these accounts
Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
Friends, family or other people you know 47 45 46 47
Entertainment, memes or parody accounts 39 31 20 12
Actors, comedians or other performers 39 33 23 15
Bands, singers or other musicians 35 29 22 16
Brands you buy from/are thinking of buying from 33 36 28 24
Influencers or other experts 30 24 17 10
TV shows or channels 28 30 26 21
Restaurants, chefs or food personalities 26 28 23 16
Sports people and teams 26 24 19 14
Gaming experts or gaming studios 25 19 11 5
The purchase journey
% of each platform's users
who’ve clicked on a promoted *select markets only Gen Z Millennials Gen X Boomers
post/ad on the site in the past month
Where do targeted
social ads resonate
the most?
Instagram TikTok* Facebook Twitter*
24 25 24 18 19 22 20 18 19 23 23 19 14 17 17 12
Snapchat* LinkedIn Reddit
12 16 16 13 18 21 19 12 15 22 21 12
1
Gen Z Millennials
Gen X Boomers
31 29 25 20 28 30 34 40
Discovering
a brand
% who discover new
brands via the following
Ads seen on social media Ads seen on TV
2
49 47 38 27 44 48 53 58
Researching
a product
% who go to the following
to learn more about a brand
Social networks Search engines
3
16 16 14 11 16 16 15 14
Clicking on
an ad
% who’ve clicked on the
following in the past month
A promoted/sponsored post An online ad on the top or
on a social network side of a website
4
28 35 33 28 13 15 11 6
Checking out
% of Facebook/Instagram
users who’ve bought
something on the app
in the past month
Facebook Marketplace Instagram Shopping Bag
Unless otherwise stated, all figures are taken from our Q4 2021 wave of online research among 225,242
internet users aged 16-64 in 47 markets. Among this cohort, there were 51,269 Gen Z aged 16-24, 77,666
millennials aged 25-38, 77,994 Gen X aged 39-57, and 18,313 baby boomers aged 58-64. Generations have
been adjusted in over-time comparisons to account for year-on-year aging, which means earlier years
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include a smaller group of Gen Z.
