Social media usage among seniors! Mainly YouTube, with significant growth in TikTok usage

First, let's define users ages 60 or older as “seniors” and look at the number of users that both users in their 20s and seniors have for each social media app. We used VALUES' online behavior log analytics tool “Dockpit,” where you can use behavioral data that is updated monthly to analyze competitors’ websites and research trends, all accessible within your browser.

Among people in their 20s, the apps with the most users are YouTube, X, and Instagram, with Facebook having the fewest users. The numbers across each app are well-balanced, and users are not leaning more toward one social media platform over another.

second place and has an overwhelming number of users. Compared to those in their 20s, the rankings of the top two platforms, Instagram and X, are reversed, and the gap between the two has been widening since around October 2023.

TikTok has the fewest senior users, and a difference can also be seen here with people in their 20s. However, when comparing May 2024 with June 2023, Facebook has about 1.2 times more, Instagram has about 1.3 times more, X has about 1.0 times more, YouTube has about 1.2 times more, and TikTok has about 1.7 times more, with TikTok exhibiting the most growth and is catching up.

Next, we compare the average number of days a month the app is opened. Let's focus on YouTube, which many seniors use.

The results show that among those who use YouTube 26 to 31 days per month, about 25% are people in their 20s and about 7% are seniors. Around ¼ of heavy users that use YouTube almost every day are in their 20s and around 10% are seniors.

On the other hand, among people who use YouTube 1 to 5 days a month, around 19% are in their 20s, and 55% are seniors. While many seniors use YouTube, the majority do not use it frequently. The difference with those in their 20s is remarkable.

YouTube is popular among seniors, but which is more commonly used: the website or the app?

Comparing the figures as of May 2024, the proportion of people using the YouTube app was 60% for those in their 20s and 61% for seniors, with barely any difference, indicating that both age groups dominate the app.

What is the gender ratio of people using each app?
Focusing on seniors, Facebook and X are slightly more male-leaning, while Instagram and YouTube are slightly more female-leaning. However, the gender ratio for each platform is roughly 5:5, and no apps are leaning strongly towards one side.

Lastly, we will look at how YouTube, which ranks first among senior app users, Instagram, which came in second, and TikTok, which still has the smallest number of users among these and is thought to have a large number of innovative senior users, are used in combination with other social media platforms.

First, let's look at the combined use of people using YouTube.

About 26% of respondents said “no combined use,” suggesting that many seniors "watch YouTube but don't use other social media." Among those who also use other social media, Instagram is the most popular at about 53%, but it does not appear social media use is heavily concentrated in any one platform.

Looking at Instagram users, YouTube accounts for about 96% of the total, with very few people not using it in combination with other social media. As expected, it looks like YouTube is the base for social media use among seniors.

The percentage of people in their 60s and over who use TikTok who also use other social media is over 50%, with YouTube and Instagram at the top of the list, and the percentage of those who have “no combined use” is very small. This shows that senior TikTok users are innovative social media users who actively use multiple social media platforms.

▼Data from Dockpit was used in this case study. Dockpit is an online behavior analytics tool provided by VALUES, Inc., and it allows you to access online behavioral data (updated monthly) via your browser so you can research competitor websites and investigate trends. There is a FREE version of Dockpit, so if you are interested in using it, please register below.