Facebook still most popular in the U.S., also negatively affects mood the most

Social media was huge before the pandemic, but it has become even more crucial and important for people over the past year or so to stay connected. SatelliteInternet.com surveyed 1,000 Americans 18 years of age or older regarding their social media activity, preferences, and experiences across 11 of the most popular platforms.

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While social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram keep us connected, they can also harm our mood. With the number of different platforms these days, it’s not hard to feel stretched thin between Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest, Reddit, and others. With all the hate Facebook gets these days, it was interesting to see that it is still the platform surveyed users spent most of their time on. However, it is by far the platform respondents picked when asked which one most negatively affected their mood.

Social media rankings chart according to SatelliteInternet.com
Social media rankings according to SatelliteInternet.com.

Some other key findings of the report include:

  • Facebook and Instagram take the lion’s share of most positive and negative sentiments, which correlates with their popularity.
  • YouTube stands out as a more positive platform that can help with learning.
  • TikTok appears to have more negative effects on productivity and self-esteem. (It’s also the app most likely to be deleted forever.)
  • Twitter produces a fair amount of anxiety and pressure over keeping up with its content, which makes it a prime candidate for people to delete (possibly forever).
  • 70% of reported social media made them feel more connected rather than isolated over the last year
  • Americans would delete TikTok forever. 43% would be okay with deleting TikTok forever followed by Twitter (39%) & Facebook (39%)
  • Influencers are, in fact, influential: 64% of people have followed the advice of influencers in the past 12 months. And over 63% bought something based on recommendations.
  • FB & IG = Biggest Time-Sucks: Facebook is the most time-consuming app (65%) followed by Instagram (43%)
  • More Americans would rather quit “cold turkey” than limit their social media usage. As many as 44% of our respondents have not taken a social media break over the past year.


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