Growing number of people spending less time on social media

(NewsNation) — Everyone is online these days, but new data suggests that a growing number of social media users are starting to log off.

Teens and young adults say they are spending less time scrolling through various social media sites or not using it at all anymore. According to polling from the Pew Research Center, younger people are spending 10% less time on social media sites compared to 2022, when social media use reached its peak.

Around 50% of all people surveyed said they have taken a break from social media in the past year.

Despite the drop, YouTube and TikTok remain the top two apps for daily engagement, with 90% of teens and young adults saying they are on YouTube every day and 63% who use TikTok every day. 61% say they use Instagram daily.

Data from the Global Web Index shows that teens and young adults feel that social media has become less social, with people who say they use social media to catch up with friends falling by more than a quarter since 2014.

Those surveyed said it’s not about how much time they’ve spent on social media, but rather thinking about why they use the apps they do. Some say a combination of burnout and mental health is leading them to spend less time online. The group also said they feel the rise of AI-driven content on social media is hurting creativity and social skills.

“I think a lot of people are using it for business, and I think the people that don’t feel like they need to be on it are getting off of it probably for their mental health and overall wellbeing,” Gary Frayter, social media director at Kronus Communications, said.