99% of Canadian Gen Z adults use social media

In 2021, nearly two-thirds (63.2%) of Canada’s population will use social media at least once a month, with the majority of that consumption taking place on smartphones and increasingly on social platforms tailored for mobile devices, such as Instagram and Snapchat.

This year, social networks will reach almost complete penetration among adult Generation Z, with 99% of users aged 18 to 24 using social media , followed by young people aged 25-34 at 90.9%.

The high rate of social media adoption among Generation Z reflects the fact that this group grew up with social networks already entrenched , but the growth of Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok is also driven in part by the rise of younger cohorts.

In the coming years, cultivating broader social networks with specific audiences will lead to a more fragmented use of social platforms .

According to an Abacus Data survey in January, daily Facebook use among adults has declined significantly in the four years ending in 2021. In 2017, 61% said they were daily users of Facebook, but by 2021, that number had dropped to 37%. In contrast, the percentage of respondents using Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn increased over the same period.

Ad Hoc Research also conducted a survey on MTM Junior in March last year. 90% of adults said they had used Facebook in the past month, but only 48% of teenagers said so. However, the proportion of teenagers using Snapchat (57%) is more than twice that of adults (23%).

On the other hand, TikTok is used by 42% of teens and only 4% of adults. Pinterest is the opposite, with 26% of adults using it and only 16% of teens using it.

The growing user base has added momentum to social media advertising, which will account for the majority of display advertising investment this year. Business tools have also been evolving over the past 12 months, making social media an important display channel for retailers and enabling buyers to conduct transactions more easily through social media. Sellers should also grasp the preferences and habits of different audiences and choose the right marketing platform.

Social Media

Canada

Generation Z