Facebook will remain the dominant social network by a “wide margin” through 2019, according to a new report from eMarketer, with half of the U.S. population (50.3%) projected to use the social media site this year.
According to eMarketer, 162.9 million Americans – approximately 50.3% of the population – will log onto Facebook at least once a month this year. The second most-visited social network, Facebook-owned photo sharing site Instagram, will boast 89.4 million monthly users (approximately 27.6% of the population).
Twitter is a “distant third,” with 56.8 million monthly users.
Facebook’s Canadian user base surpassed 50% of the population in 2014, and an estimated 52.3% of the population – roughly 18.9 million people – is expected to use the social network this year. eMarketer forecasts that to grow to 20 million (54.1%) by 2018.
The research company is currently in the midst of updating its Canadian Facebook usage figures, with data expected in the next month.
The new report says 52.9% of U.S. mobile phone users will log onto Facebook at least once a month in 2016, with mobile continuing to play an “important role” in its overall growth. Approximately 86% of U.S. Facebook users will engage with the platform via a mobile device this year, climbing to 91% by 2019.
That in turn is driving the site’s mobile ad revenue, which will account for 19.2% of total mobile spending in the U.S. (Google is first overall with a 31.7% share).
Twitter remains the industry leader in terms of both the percentage of users who access the service via mobile and the percentage of revenue derived from mobile. This year, 92.3% of Twitter’s users will log on via their phone, while it will derive 90% of its U.S. ad revenue from mobile (compared with 82% for Facebook).
In Canada, Facebook is expected to attract 16.3 million mobile users, growing to 18 million by 2018. Approximately 86% of Canadian Facebook users will log onto the social site via mobile this year, growing to 90% by 2018.
