Weekly Insights 5.17.2023 Facebook is Waning and TikTok is Gaining Among U.S. Moms

It’s May and that means Moms are on our mind, having just celebrated Mother’s Day and released our Moms and Media 2023 study. The report combines data from a sample of U.S. Moms from the Edison’s Infinite Dial (sponsored by Amazon Music, Wondery and ART19), with recent data from an additional online survey of Moms. One top of mind finding fresh from this latest report, is that fewer Social Media Moms are using Facebook most.  Among Moms who use any social media, 54% say they use Facebook most. Notably, back in 2017, a solid 72% of Social Media Moms cited they used Facebook most.  As the graph below illustrates, Facebook’s dominance has been trending downward.    

Why the decline you might ask, when Facebook reigned supreme for so long? For starters, in the social media space, Facebook was the first one in; the first one to catch on with Moms and ultimately ignite the high level of social engagement we see today. It began as a way to connect with old friends and stay in touch with family, but as Facebook continued its evolution, it became a landing point for other information – for news, commerce, school events and special interest groups. In a nutshell, Facebook became a one-stop shop for Moms, which built its dominance.  

Over the years, Facebook has come under public scrutiny multiple times, all while other social media platforms were coming online and offering other options for Moms. Suddenly Facebook’s piece of Moms’ social media pie was smaller and these other sites were proving to be worthy competitors, especially when engaging with videos and high quality graphics and photos. Our data shows that two sites, Instagram and TikTok, have gained momentum as “used most” among Social Media Moms. In 2023, 18% of Social Media Moms reported using Instagram most and 19% cited using TikTok most. Both sites have made gains since our 2022 report, where 13% of Social Media Moms cited Instagram and just 6% said they used TikTok most. TikTok made gains with Moms during the pandemic and it has continued to soar, now with half of Moms using it in 2023. 

Facebook is still used most by Social Media Moms, but it is far less dominant now and other social media platforms are making big strides. This is a trend we’ll continue to watch, especially as the social media space becomes more competitive and the debate over banning TikTok heats up.   

 In case you missed it, check out the full Moms and Media 2023 report here.

Yesterday we announced the latest update to the Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. with data from Edison Podcast Metrics. Want to see if your favorite shows made the list? Need some new listening suggestions? Check out the full list here.