Even on mobile, Facebook remains to be a strong ruler of digital landscape with 72.4 percent U.S. smartphone audience reach. The social network is also the most popular mobile social networking app in the United States with almost 169 million monthly active users, followed by Instagram with 121 million monthly active users. Facebook also had the most engaged mobile audience, with app users spending an average of almost 798 minutes per month on the platform. In June 2019, the Facebook Messenger was ranked first in the social networking category with approximately 1.53 million downloads by iPhone users in the United States.
Each social media network has its own special features and appeal across generations. During a spring 2019 survey, it was found that Snapchat was the most important social network for 41 percent of U.S. teens. Facebook was ranked fourth with only six percent of teenagers in the United States stating it to be their favorite. Almost half of active Snapchat users in the United States were aged under 30 years. Instagram and YouTube were also popular platforms for Generation Z social media users in the United States, with 65 and 63 percent respectively accessing these apps daily.
As mobile social media becomes more accessible to younger users than ever before, the market shows no signs of shrinking in the future, in fact Snapchat is predicted to have two million users aged 11 or under in the United States by 2021. In 2023, Instagram is projected to reach 125.5 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100.5 million users in 2018. The most recent data shows that the leading reason teenagers feel that social media has a positive effect on people their own age is because it allows them to connect with friends and family, and if future generations feel the same, mobile social media usage is likely to have a positive impact on how younger people network, keep in touch and make connections.
