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Social Search Statistics 2025: 98+ Stats & Insights [Expert Analysis]
- October 20, 2025
- 5:10 pm
In this article, we dig deep: we pull the most recent and compelling data around social search, analyse what it means for marketing that you can apply today.
Table of Contents
Social media usage / reach
In 2025, about 5.42 billion people are estimated to be using social media worldwide.
That equates to roughly 65.7 % of the global population.
The average daily time spent on social media globally is about 2 h 20 m (2.33 h) per day.
The average person uses multiple social platforms: about 6.6 to 7.2 different networks.
In the U.S., as of January 2025, about 246 million social media users (≈72.5 % of population).
Between January 2024 and January 2025, the U.S. social user-base grew by ~7 million (≈2.93 % growth).
Globally, social media adoption continues: e.g., 241 million new users in the past year (≈4.7 % annual growth) as of mid-2025.
In February 2025, about 63.9 % of the world’s population used social media.
Social media user penetration among internet users globally is very high: ~95.7 % of internet users use social media monthly.
In the U.S., gender breakdown: ~120.7 million female users and ~111.4 million male users.
Social search / discovery behaviour
Around 78 % of internet users globally report using social media platforms for product and brand research.
About 24 % of people say they primarily use social media as their search engine.
Among Generation Z, 46 % prefer social media over traditional search engines for discovery; among Millennials it’s 35 %.
Roughly two-thirds (≈66.6 %) of U.S. consumers have used “social search” (i.e., using social platforms to search) in March 2025.
About 31 % of consumers use social media to find answers to their questions (one in three).
40 % of Gen Z use TikTok and Instagram for search instead of Google on topics like hair & makeup or gift ideas.
On Instagram, “fashion brands” is the most-popular search category at ~12 % among searches.
On average, ~55 % of people prefer searching for products on social media platforms rather than traditional search platforms.
In short: social media is no longer only for scrolling; it’s quickly becoming a discovery/search destination.
Among internet-users in Nigeria, average time on social media is ~3 h 49 m per day — ~70 % more than the global average.
Generational / demographic insights
In the U.S., as of 2025, ~95 % of Gen Z actively use social media.
Among Gen Z, ~35 % spend over four hours per day on social media.
Among U.S. adults (all ages) the average time on social media is ~1 h 50 m per day.
Gen Z’s preferred platforms: e.g., “short-form video” (TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels) dominate.
Among U.S. age groups: 25-34 yrs group has the largest monthly active users (~44.7 M) in 2025.
In the U.S., 18-24 yrs age group has ~29.1 M monthly active users.
In the U.S., 55-64 yrs group has ~28.3 M users; 65+ has ~29.9 M users.
Among Millennials (≈born 1981-96), ~69 % are still active on social media in 2025.
Gen Z is less likely to use traditional search engines: for example 64 % of Gen Z use search engines for brand discovery versus 94 % of Boomers.
The mobile device only internet access is stronger among Gen Z (~40%) and millennials (~39%).
Platform/feature specific & search-engine share
Globally (Apr 2024–May 2025) the search engine market share: Google ~89.6 %, Bing ~3.98 %, Yandex ~2.51 %.
Social media platforms with 100 M+ active users include: Facebook (~3 billion), YouTube (~2.5 billion), WhatsApp (~2 billion), Instagram (~2 billion), TikTok (~1.5 billion) etc.
On Instagram, the Explore tab is evolving into a “visual search engine” — i.e., users typing queries like “outfit ideas for work”.
Pinterest processes over 5 billion monthly searches (as of 2025 on social search).
The shift: 2025 may be the year social media truly replaces traditional search engines for discovery.
On many social platforms, search/discovery content is increasingly “creator-led”, visual and community-driven.
For brands, failing to optimize for social search (keywords, hashtags, alt text) may mean missing “high-intent users”.
In a 2025 global overview, social media user growth is accelerating in many markets despite growth slowing in very mature markets.
On a global social media statistics research summary: in 2025 > e.g., 5.07 billion users and the average time spent was ~2h 20m.
Users in some countries (e.g., Japan) spend drastically less time: ~49 minutes/day.
Advertising / commerce / brand implications
U.S. social commerce sales are expected to surpass USD 90 billion in 2025 (from ~USD 64.8 billion in 2023).
Influencer-marketing ad spend in the U.S. projected at ~USD 6.24 billion in 2025.
For brands, social media is no longer only about engagement—it is discovery, search, conversion. (Implication from multiple sources)
The average user performing product research on social platform means brands must optimize for “searchable content” inside social apps, not just websites.
Visual search and short-form video content are playing a stronger role in discovery, impacting how brands craft content. (Derived from usage stats)
Social platforms are increasingly integrating AI tools to improve search/discovery on-platform (per social search usage trend).
For marketers: show up where high intent users are searching: social platforms rather than just Google. (Implication from stats)
Brands should treat each platform as a search engine (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) and optimize accordingly (keywords, hashtags, alt text, caption).
Discovery via social media is especially strong for categories like fashion, beauty, food/recipes and local services. (From Gen Z & category data)
The rise of social search means “organic social visibility” is now part of brand SEO strategy. (Implication)
Search vs social search shift
Generation Z is 25 % less likely to use Google search for brand discovery compared with Generation X.
On YouTube: 57 % of people use it to search for information in same way they use Google.
One in four (24 %) respondents say they primarily use social media for searches.
The shift to social search is stronger on mobile devices, where users do more “on-the-go” discovery.
Traditional search engines remain dominant overall, but growth of social search is altering the landscape.
Social search works differently: more visual, community-driven, immediate results (vs. traditional links).
Brands optimized only for website SEO may be “invisible” in on-platform social search.
The phrase “social media is the new search engine” is increasingly being used in 2025-strategy discussions.
Social search queries often take the form of “how to”, “best way to”, “brand X review” — short-form video or carousel format often satisfy the need. (Implication)
As users spend more time inside social apps, the top of the funnel for brand discovery is shifting away from web search.
Global / regional differences
In Nigeria: average social media use ~3 h 49 m/day — among the highest globally.
In Japan: average social media usage ~49 minutes/day — among the lowest in the dataset.
The global average of time spent on social media is around 2 h 27 m (2021 baseline) and has hovered around that.
Social media penetration (percentage of population) varies widely by region and market maturity. (General observation)
Emerging markets are still showing strong growth in new social media users (e.g., Africa, South Asia) though detailed regional stats vary.
On a global scale, over half of the world’s population now uses social media. (E.g., 58.4% used social media at one point)
As markets become saturated, growth rates moderate (e.g., global annual growth ~4.7% in 2025)
The number of social network accounts per user tends to be higher in developed markets (users diversify across apps).
In some markets, mobile-only internet access and social-first behaviour are dominant among younger users.
Regional cultural/trend differences influence what people search for on social (e.g., local services, recipes, brands).
Content and engagement patterns
Social media content is increasingly short-form video, carousel posts, stories rather than long static posts — this impacts discoverability.
Users often search inside social apps to find “how to”, “product reviews”, “brands” — especially via visual and creator content.
Platforms are adding better in-app search/discovery tools: e.g., Instagram’s Explore, Pinterest’s search, TikTok’s query search.
The average user receives a lot of content from creators/other users; this “peer-review” nature supports social search.
Engagement on social platforms tends to be higher among younger users; brands need to factor this in strategy (inferred from stats).
Social search is less about keywords and more about trend-based, conversational queries (e.g., “what outfit for work summer” vs. “work outfit women”).
For imagery/visual search, alt text, captions, hashtags matter inside the platform search algorithms.
Social discovery often leads to “impulse” behaviour — users searching while browsing feeds, quicker decision journeys.
Many users don’t click out of social apps; they find what they need inside the app or video itself. (Implication)
For brands, being present and discoverable on social platform search is increasingly as important as web SEO.
Implications for brands/search/SEO
Optimize content inside each social platform for search/discovery: user intent, keywords, hashtags, alt text.
Treat social platforms as search engines: i.e., users asking questions inside them just like Google.
Don’t assume traditional web search is the only or even primary discovery path, especially for younger audiences.
Monitor social search trends by platform: TikTok search queries differ from Instagram differ from Pinterest.
Use video and visuals because users are searching via visuals, not just text.
Brands must work to appear in “search results” inside apps (video suggestions, explore feed, hashtags) not just in the feed.
Use analytics to understand what queries users search inside platform (“How to”, “Best X”, “Tutorial”, “Brand review”).
Consider that many users may never leave the app when searching: hence optimization inside platform is critical.
Social search blurs the line between content, marketing and search: user-generated content (UGC) plays a big role in discovery.
For SEO practitioners: broaden scope beyond Google/Bing to include social app SEO/discovery.
Emerging / future trends
As AI tools improve within social apps, social search will become more personalised and context-aware.
We’ll likely see continued growth in “zero-click” discovery in social apps (users find what they need without leaving the app).
Social platforms may increasingly become full end-to-end ecosystems: search → discovery → purchase all inside the app.
The “search funnel” is changing: discovery → social app → conversion rather than search engine → website → conversion.
Short-form video and creator-led content will dominate discovery/search behaviour for younger audiences.
Older models of keyword-based SEO may need adaptation to “query-based”, “conversation-based” search inside apps.
Brands that ignore social search risk being invisible to large segments of audience—particularly younger consumers.
Social commerce (search inside social → buy inside social) will continue to grow strongly.
Multi-platform strategy becomes important: users might search across different social apps depending on mood/context.
As social platforms invest in improving search/discovery tools, the line between “social” and “search engine” will continue to blur.
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About the author, Bill Nash
Bill Nash is the CMO of Marketing LTB with over a decade of experience, he has driven growth for Fortune 500 companies and startups through data-driven campaigns and advanced marketing technologies. He has written over 400 pieces of content about marketing, covering topics like marketing tips, guides, AI in advertising, advanced PPC strategies, conversion optimization, and others.