Most popular social media platforms of 2022
Introduction
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably a human being. And if you’re a human being, you likely have some experience with social media. As of early 2022, the most popular social media platforms in the world are:
Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform, and with over 2 billion users, it’s easy to see why.
Facebook is great for connecting with family, friends, and acquaintances worldwide.
You can use Facebook to share photos and videos that are important to you or keep up with what your favorite celebrities are doing.
Maybe you want to share something funny that happened at work or school? There are so many different ways that people use Facebook.
YouTube
YouTube, the world’s largest video-sharing website, was founded in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees.
The platform is owned by Google and has 1.8 billion users making it the second most popular search engine in the world (behind Google).
YouTube allows users to upload videos that can be viewed on computers and mobile devices.
It is estimated that over 100 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube every minute, with about half of this being related to gaming or e-sports content.
WhatsApp is a messaging app for smartphones. It’s owned by Facebook and was founded in 2009.
WhatsApp has over 1.5 billion users and is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.
Messenger
Messenger is a messaging app owned by Facebook. It was first released in 2011 before being separated from the main Facebook app in 2014.
Messenger has 1.2 billion monthly active users who use it to send messages to friends and family, order food, make payments, and more.
The app’s latest update lets users book trips through Uber right within the app (so you don’t have to switch over to Uber itself) or orders an Uber directly from Messenger if you’ve already ordered one by chatting with your driver.
Instagram is a photo-sharing app owned by Facebook. It was created in 2010 and had over 1 billion users worldwide.
The platform is viral among celebrities, athletes and brands, and regular people who like taking photos on their phones.
WeChat is a Chinese social media platform that allows users to message each other, make video calls, play mobile games, read news and media from various providers (including Bloomberg and The Economist), shop online, and even hail a taxi with the app.
Although it’s primarily used in China, WeChat has been popular worldwide since its launch in 2011.
In addition to being available for download on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, you can access the service via the web at wechat.com/en/.
The user interface is quite intuitive: Just enter your phone number or scan a QR code if you’re trying to connect with someone new (hundreds of millions of these codes are floating around).
Once signed up as an account holder (which takes only seconds), you’ll be able to send messages within your contacts list;
chat with friends who have also downloaded WeChat;
use voice calling features such as voice messaging or group calls;
View videos posted by people you follow on the app; find local businesses based on their locations and use them while they’re open through quick payments;
order food delivery from restaurants nearby using restaurant menus displayed within WeChat’s interface.
QQ (pronounced “chee-chee”) is a Chinese social media app similar to WhatsApp. It’s owned by Tencent, the company that owns WeChat and other popular apps in China. QQ has over 850 million users worldwide and is used primarily for messaging.
These seven platforms control most of the world’s social media use, but there are many more platforms.
There are a lot of social media platforms out there, but these seven control most of the world’s social media use.
Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and QQ are the most popular platforms worldwide.
Combined, they have nearly 3 billion users and over 65% of all social media users worldwide. Other notable players include Twitter (330 million users) and Snapchat (200 million).
Conclusion
We hope this list has given you a better understanding of how social media is changing and how these platforms are becoming more popular. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!