The chart compares four different social media platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, in terms of overall time consumption between 2000 and 2020. Units are measured in minutes.
From an overall perspective, median time dedicated to Instagram experienced an upward trend, while that for Facebook and Snapchat showed a downward trajectory, albeit with varying levels. Of particular note is the duration of social media use on Twitter, which rose continually to become the dominant platform in this category.
Following a marginal rise from about 23 minutes to 25 minutes in the first years, devoted time on Twitter experienced negligible growth, reaching 30 minutes in 2013. From this point onwards, it went up to a peak of above 40 minutes by the conclusion of the period. Beginning at roughly 24 minutes, time dedicated to Instagram climbed dramatically until the year 2014, when it reached the highest of approximately 42 minutes. It then fell gradually to under 35 minutes at the end of the period.
When it comes to other platforms, a downward trend was shown; after rising to around 11 minutes between 2011 and 2017, allocated time on Snapchat skyrocketed, hitting a high of 45 minutes in 2019. This figure then plummeted to 15 minutes by the close of the period. Having started at approximately 24 minutes, the Facebook dipped to about 12 minutes in 2017. The data then dropped continually until the end of the period, when it reached the lowest of roughly 3 minutes.