Social networks are an integral part of our lives. They have united billions of people around the world, providing them with the opportunity to communicate, share news, photos, videos and information. They are indispensable tools for personal use, work and business.
According to Gradus Research, a research company specializing in opinion polls, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are the most popular social media in Ukraine. Thus, a study of media consumption among Ukrainians conducted by the company in October 2024 showed that 72% of respondents used Facebook and 61% used Instagram during the week: these social networks are an important platform not only for news but also for social interaction and self-expression. Among streaming services, YouTube Music is the most popular with a share of 45% of respondents.
"The growing popularity of streaming services and social networks as the main channels for entertainment indicates a significant impact of global trends, particularly among younger audiences. Such changes indicate the formation of new content consumption habits, which is likely to have a long-term impact on the Ukrainian media space and determine its further development," commented Yevheniia Blyzniuk, sociologist, founder and director of Gradus Research.
We decided to delve deeper into this topic and figure out which social networks are popular among young people today and what trends we should expect in the future amid the planned ban of the TikTok app in the United States.
The most popular social networks among Ukrainian youth
First, a little history. Social media began to gain popularity on the Internet in 1995 with the emergence of the American website classmates.com. At the time, this portal was used more for finding people than for communication. The project was quite successful. Over the next few years, more than a dozen similar services appeared. But many believe that the first social media in the modern sense was the SixDegrees.com project. The project's website, which was created in 1997, had all the usual elements of a social media: a profile, a list of friends, and even a local message board. The site was named after the theory of six handshakes. However, this social media did not become popular at the time. The real "boom" in social media began a little later, when the well-known social media were launched in the United States: LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook.
The year 2003 was marked by the emergence of LinkedIn, a business networking site, and MySpace, an international social network that offered more interactive features than any of its predecessors. In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes launched Thefacebook, which was originally located at thefacebook.com, to unite Harvard University students. A year later, the social network had 2 million users from 500 universities, and in 2006 it became open to all.
But let's go back to 2025. What do the most popular social networks look like in the global rankings today? According to the StatCounter Global Stats website, which shows global data on the market share of social networks, Facebook is still the market leader. Mark Zuckerberg's social network currently has more than three billion monthly active users. Meta also owns Instagram, which ranks second in the ranking. In third place is YouTube, which combines video hosting, social networking, and a video search engine.
StatCounter Global Stats also shows that Facebook is still the top ranked social network in Ukraine. It is followed by YouTube and Instagram. This rating does not include TikTok and Telegram. Other platforms also classify them as social networks.
As Forbes Ukraine wrote in April 2024, citing data from Kantar Ukraine, TikTok in Ukraine has the highest average daily usage among social networks and messengers. Telegram ranks first with 88%, while Instagram is fifth with 57%. TikTok is in sixth place with a daily usage rate of 40%. "TikTok, along with Telegram, are leaders in the perception of platforms as innovative, but TikTok does not have consumer trust - the network has the lowest trust scores, as does X. TikTok is perceived by Ukrainians as a light entertainment platform. It remains a specific, niche platform for multi-purpose communication," said Kyrylo Yezhov, Business Development Director at Kantar Ukraine, at the time.
Similarweb provides more representative statistics. The top 15 social networks and online communities in Ukraine in October-December 2024 looked like this👇.
In the older age groups (13-15 and 16-35), the level of trust in anonymous Telegram channels is generally low. Children aged 10-12 are the most active users of TikTok: 65% of respondents open the app daily or several times a day. YouTube is watched by 65%, Telegram is used by 63%, 47% use Viber daily, and 19% use Instagram.
Telegram is the most popular app among teenagers aged 13-15: 82% of respondents said they spend time on the app every day or several times a day. TikTok is popular among 78% of respondents, YouTube - 63%. Another 48% use Instagram on a daily basis, and 29% use Viber.
86% of young people aged 16 to 35 use Telegram on a daily basis. YouTube is the second most popular with 70%. 66% of respondents often open Instagram, and 51% use Viber. Unlike the previous groups, TikTok is not as popular - only 46% of respondents use it daily.
Two younger groups said they often use the Russian social networks VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, which are banned in Ukraine, with the respective figures ranging from 1% to 7%.
Despite the high popularity of Telegram among all age groups, the vast majority either do not trust or rather distrust anonymous channels (26% and 44% among young people and 24% and 48% among teenagers).
Teenagers (13-15 years old) and young adults (16-35 years old) were also asked about their tolerance for Russian content. According to the results, the majority stands for the absolute rejection of such content, but 6% to 8% of respondents consider it quite normal to watch Russian movies, listen to Russian music, and watch content from Russian bloggers.
It is worth noting that 1415 young people aged 16 to 35, 494 children (10-12 years old) and 512 adolescents (13-15 years old) took part in the survey, or 2421 people in total. These samples are representative of the population of Ukraine of the corresponding age. The theoretical margin of error does not exceed ±4.4% for youth aged 10-12 and youth aged 13-15. The theoretical error does not exceed ±2.6% for young people aged 16-35.
According to Anton Yudin, a marketer and head of UAWEB Internet agency, the term "social media" is broad today: it includes YouTube, which combines video hosting, social networking, and search engine, and Telegram, which is a messenger but also functions as a social network.
"You can take statistics, for example, from Statista or Kantar, but it is better to observe real examples. I observed my children. Like modern kids, they spend time at home while chatting with several friends in audio chat and playing online games. In these games, they have their own unique skins and nicknames, which creates a sense of another dimension. If I had been told as a child that this would be possible, I would have called it fantasy. Video platforms are popular among them: 1) TikTok; 2) Instagram Reels; 3) YouTube Shorts. Video communication is also popular, for example, through "circles" on Telegram. In addition, online video games, such as Brawl Stars or Roblox, can be partially considered social networks due to their communication and interaction attributes," the expert told us.
After analyzing various data, the expert identified five trends for 2025:
▪️Further increase the role of video content, especially short video content;
▪️Implementation and use of AI, in particular for content personalization;
▪️Cross-platform: using several social networks at the same time;
▪️Gamification that allows you to develop your account and stand out;
▪️Multi-platform: one platform offers maximum functions.
According to Ihor Isychenko, marketing director of the NGO Makes Sense, which brings together professionals to create an independent media space, social media will continue to change in 2025, and this process will be even faster than before.
"I am sure that the main trends will be AI, short video formats, and new monetization opportunities for authors. AI is actively used to create content - we are already seeing an increase in the number and quality of AI-generated texts, images, and videos, and this trend will only grow. Short video formats will continue to dominate. Videos on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts will be the key content format. But we will also see the growth of other interactive formats. Content monetization will become even more important. Creators will focus on new ways of earning money: subscriptions, donations, and exclusive content. Platforms will fight for content creators by offering them more tools to earn money," the marketer said.
For comparison: According to a study by the International Republican Institute, in 2021, Instagram was the most popular social network among young people in Ukraine - 82% among young people aged 13-15, 64% among 16-35. Facebook took second place with 61%, but only among young people aged 16-35. Viber and Telegram messengers were already popular. However, the TikTok platform was only gaining popularity - 32% - among young people aged 10-15. ☝️The survey was conducted from February 22 to March 28, 2021 |
What are the top social media among American youth?
The United States of America has traditionally set global trends in many areas, including social media. On the eve of the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, various social media are vigorously discussing the "epic" with the Chinese social network TikTok.
For example, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the law providing for the possibility of banning TikTok in the country if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not agree to the sale is constitutional. "There is no doubt that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok is a unique and broad means of expression, a way to interact and a source of community. However, Congress has determined that the sale of the company is necessary to address reasonable national security concerns related to TikTok's data collection practices and its relationship with a foreign adversary," the court wrote in its ruling.
This decision means that TikTok will remain under the threat of a ban in the United States from January 19, 2025, unless President Joe Biden extends the deadline or ByteDance manages to sell the company in time. Most likely, the Biden administration will probably decide to postpone the implementation of the decision and leave it to the next administration after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Monday, January 20, 2025.
Trump himself has repeatedly stated that he will try to save TikTok. By the way, it has recently become known that TikTok has become the main sponsor of the party in honor of the inauguration of the new US president, which will take place on January 19, when the law banning the social network is supposed to come into force.
Meanwhile, due to the potential ban of TikTok in the United States, users are migrating en masse to the Chinese app Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote. And the new users have already faced challenges related to Chinese censorship. RedNote, which is a clone of Instagram, has introduced mandatory registration with real names, which requires a Chinese SIM card.
When it comes to the most popular social networks among teenagers in the United States, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat are still in the lead. According to a survey of American teens aged 13 to 17 conducted from September 18 to October 10, 2024, by the nonprofit Pew Research Center, most teens use social media and have a smartphone, and almost half of them say they are online almost all the time.
73% of teens say they log on to YouTube every day, making it their most visited platform. This share includes 15% of those who describe their time on YouTube as "almost constant." About six out of ten teenagers surveyed visit TikTok every day. This proportion includes 16% of those who describe their presence on TikTok as "almost constant." Roughly half of young Americans say they log on to Instagram or Snapchat every day, including about one in ten who say they are on each of these platforms "almost all the time."
American teens were also asked how often they go online. About half said they were online "almost all the time," up from 24% a decade ago. This share has remained unchanged over the past few years. Overall, almost all adolescents - 96% - report using the Internet on a daily basis.
But YPulse, a leading youth marketing research and insights company, has made detailed conclusions about the best social platforms for young people in 2024:
▪️TikTok — continues to lead the way with its short videos, attracting the attention of the Z-generation with trends and challenges;
▪️YouTube — the main source of video content, educational materials, and entertainment that continues to be popular among different age groups;
▪️Instagram — popular among users for sharing photos and stories, especially with features like Reels that keep it competitive;
▪️Snapchat — known for its short-lived content and funny filters, it maintains a strong position among young users;
▪️Discord — gaining popularity through the creation of communities, and is especially revered among gamers and various interest groups;
▪️WhatsApp — although it is primarily a messaging application, it is widely used for group chats and communication;
▪️Facebook — although the social network's popularity among young users is declining, it still has a significant user base;
▪️Threads — a relatively new platform that is actively attracting attention with its text-based social interactions;
▪️BeReal — this app that encourages authenticity allows users to share real-time moments with friends;
"Young people are increasingly interacting with platforms that prioritize authenticity and community, such as BeReal and Discord," summarized the research company YPulse.
According to Anton Yudin, TikTok's likely withdrawal from the US and other countries will lead to a redistribution of users to platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. "This niche can also be occupied by new social networks, such as Threads, which is being developed by Mark Zuckerberg. Threads is increasingly integrating the functionality of tweets and short videos, and is trying to bypass social network X. The latter is changing rapidly and may become more video-oriented, especially if it is bought out by TikTok. Another promising platform is Mastodon, which is a decentralized social network. In general, more and more social networks are emerging that prioritize decentralization, security, and innovation in user experience," the head of UAWEB agency explained to us.
In his opinion, the main redistribution of the audience is likely to be in favor of American platforms. "Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, which are already actively developing the short video format, will see a significant increase in users. Creators and brands that used to make money on TikTok will have to quickly change their content and marketing strategies to maintain their audience and monetization," summarized Igor Isichenko, marketing director of the NGO "It Makes Sense."
According to various analysts, in addition to Threads, the following platforms can be considered social networks that will gain momentum in 2025:
▪️Bluesky — a network that was created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey as a decentralized messaging platform; it is being developed with an emphasis on providing more freedom, transparency and control for users; it is positioned as an alternative to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter; Bluesky is trying to create a new standard for social networks, where users will have more control and opportunities for self-expression, avoiding restrictions and problems; over the past year, the audience has grown nine times - from 2.89 million to 25.94 million users; in 2025, the social network is going to invest in more powerful systems for detecting harmful content, and promises to show a draft of new community rules and move to responding to moderation reports directly in the application, which will simplify communication with users.
▪️Damus — launched in 2023, is a social network that uses a decentralized approach, in particular the Nostr protocol, to ensure freedom of speech, privacy, and security of users; it competes with other decentralized platforms, as well as Bluesky and Twitter.
▪️Lemon8 — social media developed by the Chinese company ByteDance, which is known for another popular platform TikTok; Lemon8 focuses on photo sharing, similar to Instagram, but with an additional emphasis on creating and discovering content in the areas of fashion, food, travel, and lifestyle; the audience is young people, lifestyle enthusiasts, influencers, and content makers.
▪️RTRO — a new social media that is gaining popularity; the platform places great emphasis on retro aesthetics and nostalgia, which is reflected in both its visual design and functionality; the target audience is young people and creative users; like other social networks, RTRO can develop various monetization methods: advertising, premium features, or partnerships with brands.
▪️Gowalla — a social media that focuses on geolocation services and mobile applications; it focuses on social interaction through geolocation, allowing users to discover interesting places, share experiences and interact with other users; the target audience is travelers and researchers, socially active users.
▪️Kick — a streaming platform that is an alternative to more well-known platforms such as Twitch and YouTube; it is actively gaining popularity among gamers and streamers; the platform offers more favorable conditions for streamers compared to competitors, for example, a much higher percentage of revenue from subscriptions and donations goes directly to streamers.
As a result, although the list of popular social networks, including among young people, has remained unchanged for many years, legislative initiatives and the desire to reduce the spread of disinformation in the West could significantly affect this market in 2025 and beyond. Therefore, new projects also have a chance to win the favor of a larger audience.