The line graph illustrates the results of a survey on the proportion of online adults in the United States who used five different social media platforms between 2012 and 2015.
Overall, Facebook remained by far the most widely used platform throughout the period, while all five social media sites showed an overall upward trend.
Between 2012 and 2013, the proportion of adults using Facebook increased slightly, from 67% to approximately 71%. LinkedIn and Twitter also experienced marginal growth, rising from 20% to around 22% and from 16% to approximately 18%, respectively. By contrast, Pinterest and Instagram recorded relatively stronger increases, with their figures climbing from 15% to around 18% and from 13% to approximately 17%.
From 2013 to 2015, Facebook remained largely stable, rising by only about one percentage point to 72%. The other four platforms experienced their strongest growth between 2013 and 2014 compared with the previous year. Pinterest and Instagram recorded the most substantial increases, reaching approximately 28% and 26%, respectively. Twitter and LinkedIn also grew, although less dramatically, with their figures rising to around 23% and 28%.
Between 2014 and 2015, growth generally slowed, with the platforms either remaining stable, increasing only slightly or declining. Instagram and Pinterest edged up from around 26% to 28% and from 28% to 31%, respectively, while Twitter remained virtually unchanged at approximately 23%. LinkedIn, meanwhile, was the only platform to experience a decline, falling from around 28% to 25%.