Instagram and Pinterest both doubled users over the last 3 years
Pew Research Center, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, surveyed 1,907 adults this spring to learn about their social media habits
Among the discoveries: 31 per cent of all adults who go online now use Pinterest, versus just 15 per cent three years ago. Meanwhile, 28 per cent of all adults who go online now use Instagram versus a mere 13 per cent in 2012.
Twitter also saw significant user growth over the same period, just not quite on the same level as Instagram and Pinterest. LinkedIn was the only social media platform studied that actually saw its user base decrease slightly from 2014 to 2015.
Facebook, of course, remains far and away the most widely-used social media platform. It snagged 72% of all online adults in the survey, but there are signs that its growth spurt is at an end. That figure is just 5% higher than it was 3 years ago.
The estimate goes hand in hand with Facebook’s own user statistics over the last several quarters, indicating slowing user growth in the U.S.
Still, Facebook’s user base of 1.49 billion is several times larger than any other social media platform out there right now. The social network has achieved a global scale for which Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn still strive.