Have you ever ever been hypnotized by social media? Based on our latest Consumer Trends survey, customers of it spend a median of three hours a day there.

It is easy to fall right into a social media entice, full of countless distraction. One minute you’re checking a DM and the following factor you already know you’ve spent an hour watching movies of corgis enjoying fetch.
However, it does make you surprise what shoppers really do whereas spending all that point on social media. And — as a marketer — you are possible going a step additional by asking: “What’s my audience doing on there?”
Why Customers Use (& Love) Social Media
Earlier than asking social media customers what the heck they’re doing on social media all day, we requested them to decide on the highest three causes they go browsing within the first place.
And contemplating the common social media consumer spends three hours a day on their platforms of selection, it is no shock that they go browsing to do a little bit of every thing there:
In digging deeper, we decided the highest three causes customers go browsing to every main social media platform:
Whereas Fb and Instagram are primarily used to share content material from our lives and sustain with household, customers flip to TikTok and YouTube for leisure, schooling, and inspiration. We even have Twitter and LinkedIn, the one platforms which can be primarily used to maintain up with information and tendencies.
With that in thoughts, we will dive just a little deeper into the highest causes folks use every of those platforms.
What Social Media Customers Do on Every Platform
Fb customers primarily sustain with family members — but additionally prefer to share media on their feeds.
Fb — utilized by 69% of U.S. adults is the most well-liked social media app on our checklist.
Two in three Fb customers are on it to maintain up with family and friends, 43% use it to share footage and movies, and 26% go to Fb merely for leisure. About one in 5 lean on Fb for information or tendencies, in addition to to be taught new issues.
YouTube customers search out leisure, schooling, and inspirational content material.
YouTube is the second hottest social media platform, utilized by 57% of U.S. adults. Edutainment thrives on YouTube – the highest causes folks go to are to seek out entertaining content material, be taught new issues, discover inspiration, and sustain with information and tendencies. About one in 5 YouTubers use the app to maintain up with manufacturers and merchandise.
Instagrammers share multimedia content material whereas maintaining with buddies, household, and celebrities.
45% of American adults use Instagram, and the highest makes use of are to share footage/movies (38%), to maintain up with family and friends (33%), comply with celebrities and influencers (27%), discover entertaining content material (27%), and sustain with manufacturers/merchandise (24%).
TikTok customers watch a mixture of entertaining, academic, and inspirational content material.
Nearly one in three U.S. adults are on TikTok, however this shoots as much as 62% once we have a look at Gen Z.
General, TikTok’s used very like YouTube – for leisure, schooling, and inspiration. 23% use TikTok to maintain up with celebs/influencers and 21% use it to share their very own content material. About one in 5 TikTokers go to the platform to comply with manufacturers/merchandise, whereas the identical quantity use it to maintain up with information and tendencies.
Twitter customers crave information, leisure, and superstar content material.
Twitter stands out as the one platform the place maintaining with information and cultural tendencies is the #1 purpose folks use the app. Discovering entertaining content material (27%), maintaining with celebrities (26%), and studying new issues (23%) are additionally prime causes for Twitter utilization.
LinkedIn customers surf feeds for schooling, trade information, and model updates.
As the one social media platform on this checklist geared in direction of professionals, it is no shock that the highest purpose folks use LinkedIn is to be taught new issues. About 1 in 4 LinkedIn customers additionally go browsing to maintain up with information or tendencies, manufacturers and their merchandise, and their community of family and friends.
Extra Social Media Traits
Searching for extra social tendencies? Try HubSpot’s Social Media Trends 2023 Report weblog pos, or the total PDF model beneath. On this content material, we dig into knowledge from 1,200+ social media entrepreneurs in addition to key insights evaluating marketer knowledge to our bi-annual Consumer Trends Report.