December 21, 2022 – Today, Pollara Strategic Insights released an updated report for the 5th edition of SocialScape – Canada’s definitive measurement of social media, messaging, and videoconferencing platform usage patterns. Although SocialScape 2022 was released two months ago, recent anecdotal reports of Twitter account cancellations occurring in the wake of Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter prompted us to conduct a short follow-up survey in order to update Twitter membership and usage data in the report. Ultimately, we found no evidence of a significant post-Musk exodus of members, as recent anecdotes may suggest, but reading and posting activity amongst members has reduced noticeably from August to December 2022. Some of the key findings in SocialScape 2022 include:
- 90% of Canadians are social media users.
- Facebook and Instagram continue to be the top social media platforms used in Canada. Notably, newer platforms, like TikTok and Discord,have quickly entered the top 10 social media platforms in Canada.
- Many platforms have somewhat lower membership figures in 2022 compared to 2019, with the exception of Instagram and Reddit. Although Twitter recorded a steady, gradual increase in membership from 2016 to 2019, membership numbers declined notably by August 2022 – and continued to do so following Elon Musk’s purchase and assumption of the CEO position. However, as mentioned above, there is no evidence of a significant post-Musk exodus of members.
- As in 2019, social media users spend 6 hours per week on social media, on average – with browsing far more prevalent than posting content.
- Social media continues to be a tool that helps people stay connected with family and friends. However, it is also considered a medium that allows the spread of conspiracy theories and fake news and fosters hate and violence. And, privacy concerns remain high, with few trusting social media to keep their personal information private.
- Turning to messaging platforms, 94% of Canadians use at least one. Three-quarters use basic SMS or MMS texting or (Facebook) Messenger – by far the most-used messaging platforms. iMessage and WhatsApp are used by two- fifths. While these four platforms see an uptick in usage, other older platforms such as Skype, Android Messages, and Google Chat see a significant drop in usage.
- And, turning to our new entry in SocialScape, 82% of Canadians use at least one video conferencing platform. Zoom is – by far – the most widely-used platform, followed by Facetime and Microsoft Teams.
For more details and insights, please read the SocialScape 2022 report.
