7 Surprising 2020 Social Media Trends

Forget what you think you might know about social media. New data from Edison research is in, bringing with it a number of surprises surrounding the social media trends of 2020, trends that music marketers should pay attention to.

Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

Because of the news and our personal experience, we sometimes get a skewed idea of what a part of the world looks like. Nowhere is this more evident than with social media. Researchers from Edison Research have found a number of social media trends in their Infinite Dial 2020 report that bust many of the myths that we believe about the subject. Let’s take a look.

1. Younger audiences are coming back to Facebook

Facebook users between the ages of 12 to 34 have been using the platform more and more. In fact, there’s been a 3% increase in usage over the last year. So much for the belief that younger users don’t go there anymore.

2. Social media usage has flattened

We’re all under the impression that the social media user base continues to grow, but the fact of the matter is that it’s remained about the same size since 2016. It only grew 1% in the last year.

3. Gen-Xers are using Facebook more too

Of all age groups, those in the 34-55 range are using the platform 7% more than last year. That’s not a huge surprise.

4. WhatsApp is up, Snapchat is down

WhatsApp is gaining users in the 12 to 34 age range, growing by 26% since last year. Snapchat, on the other hand, has fallen in usage in all age groups.

5. TikTok is hot

Users between the ages of 12 to 34 have really taken to the platform and have used it 26% more than last year.

6. Live video game streaming is hot too

9% of the total population 12 or older reports playing a live streamed video game in the last year. That’s an increase of 28% since 2019!

7. But Instagram is still the hottest

When it comes to users under that age of 34, Instagram is now the most used platform, barely beating out Facebook.

Of all the social media trends, the biggest surprise is that the social world is not growing. What we’re seeing instead is a movement of users from one platform (Facebook), mostly to others (Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp). Of course, users are not exclusive to any one platform, usually using several at a time, but we’re gradually seeing a realignment of users in the that world, especially between the ages of 12 and 34.