HIGH NUMBERS: The UK social media and messaging user data you need for 2021

God bless you, Ofcom. God bless your freely available data that helps to make the life of communicators better.

Ofcom’s Adults Media Use and Attitudes report has been published and a rich treasure trove of numbers it is too.

These statistics were gathered during the second and third UK lockdowns of late 2020 so reflect the turbulence of the first year of the pandemic.

TLDR: 2021 in summary

As a country, older people gravitate to Facebook and WhatsApp while younger people can be found on a wider array of platforms.

Messaging platforms like Messenger, WhatsApp and Skype collectively are more popular than social media accounts.

Every age demographic has its distinct preferences.

Surprisingly, 35 to 44 year olds are now narrowly the single biggest users of social media.

TikTok is climbing but hasn’t reached the top four for under 24s with 54 per cent using it.

What platforms do 16 to 24-year-olds use in the UK?

Instagram tops the list with Snapchat and YouTube following. TikTok hasn’t reached the top four. For messaging, its WhatsApp. A total of 88 per cent use social media and the same number with messaging.

Social media

1. Instagram 69 per cent
2. Snapchat 64 per cent
3. YouTube 63 per cent
4. Facebook 61 per cent

Messaging

1. WhatsApp 69 per cent
2. Messenger 54 per cent
3. Discord 28 per cent

What platforms do 25 to 34-year-olds use in the UK?

For this age group, Facebook and WhatsApp with 90 per cent messaging use pipping 89 per cent social media.

Social media

1. Facebook 72 per cent
2. Instagram 68 per cent
3. YouTube 48 per cebnt
4. Snapchat 39 per cent

Messaging

1. WhatsApp 78 per cent
2. Messenger 65 per cent
3. Skype 27 per cent

What platforms do 35 to 45-year-olds use in the UK?

This age group messages the most of all (93 per cent) and also uses social media the most (91 per cent).

Social media

1. Facebook 75 per cent
2. Instagram 57 per cent
3. YouTube 47 per cent
4. Twitter 37 per cent

Messaging

1. WhatsApp 83 per cent
2. Messenger 72 per cent
3. Skype 31 per cent

What platforms do 46 to 54-year-olds use in the UK?

Facebook is used most by this demographic with 77 per cent.

Social media

1. Facebook 77 per cent
2. Instagram 41 per cent
3. Twitter 33 per cent
4. YouTube 33 per cent

Messaging

1. WhatsApp 83 per cent
2. Messenger 72 per cent
3. Skype 26 per cent

What platforms do 55 to 64-year-olds use in the UK?

Almost three quarters use social media and messaging apps.

Social media

1. Facebook 65 per cent
2. Twitter 23 per cent
3. Instagram 23 per cent

Messaging

1. WhatsApp 62 per cent
2. Messenger 55 per cent
3. Skype 20 per cent

What platforms do over 65-year-olds use in the UK?

The majority of this age group use social and messaging platforms with 59 per cent and 64 per cent users. Facebook is favourite.

Social media

1. Facebook 54 per cent
2. YouTube 16 per cent
3. Twitter 13 per cent
4. Instagram 11 per cent

Messaging

1. WhatsApp 44 per cent
2. Messenger 43 per cent
3. Skype 13 per cent

Conclusion

Wise communications and PR people will read this data and reflect on how it affects them day-to-day. This represents a subtle year-on-year shift. Ten years ago, the tide was showing signs digital comms was going to be important.

The tide has washed in the direction of social media but has also brought with it messaging apps which have now overtaken social as a way to keep in touch.

For public sector communicators, this data can be a powerful tool in your armoury.

Picture credit: istock.