Social Media Habits of College Students

Campus advertising is a vital part of the marketing mix for many organizations. But it’s not enough to understand why you should advertise to college students or even the basics of how to advertise on campus. To create effective advertising campaigns, you must also know the best ways to reach and influence young adults, who are deeply enmeshed in the digital landscape. Explore the social media habits of college students to maximize your marketing campaign results.

What does the college population look like?

To understand the social media habits of college students, you must first realize who they are. In the spring of 2024, 25.5 million students enrolled in undergraduate programs at postsecondary institutions. The majority of students at public and non-profit private institutions are between the ages of 18 and 24. This makes them members of Generation Z.

A meaningful portion of the post-secondary undergraduate population is somewhat older. 1.2 million undergraduate students are 25-29, while almost 2.4 million are 30 years old or older. And a growing number of college students are below the age of 18. These are primarily high school students in dual enrollment classes.

While college students largely belong to the younger generations, campus ads reach a widely varied audience in terms of both gender and race. In 2022-2023, freshmen women’s enrollment growth outpaced men’s, a reversal of the previous two-year trend. Undergraduate enrollment increased among all major ethno-racial groups except white students.

What social media platforms do college students use?

The next step in understanding the social media habits of college students is to look at social media usage statistics. A recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults found the following: 

• Almost 100% of adults ages 18 to 29  use social media.
  YouTube and Facebook continue to dominate the online landscape.
  The vast majority of adults under the age of 65 use YouTube, including 93% of those ages 18 to 29. 
  68% of adults ages 18 to 29 use Facebook
  Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok have an especially strong following among young adults. The majority of 18- to 29-year-olds use these platforms.
• The top three social media platforms used by Gen Z are Instagram (65%), YouTube (63%) and TikTok (58%).

“Social media is not just a spoke on the wheel of marketing. It’s becoming the way entire bicycles are built." 

– RYAN LILLY

How often do college students access social media sites?

• Almost half of millennials and Gen Z check their social media accounts multiple times a day. 
• More than one-third of Gen Z say they spend over two hours a day on social media.
• Millennials are the most active social media users, with 32% posting one or more times a day.
• Facebook users average 30 minutes a day on the site.
• Instagram users spend an average of 33 minutes visiting the platform each day.
• At 53.8 minutes, TikTok boasts the highest average time spent per day of any social media network. This is an increase of 10 minutes per day over the previous year. 
• With users averaging 48.7 minutes per day on the site, YouTube comes in a close second.

The social media habits of college students vary by age.

While millennials and Gen Z have similar social media habits, there are some differences in the amount of time they spend on these platforms and how they use them.

• While 68% of adults ages 18 to 29 use Facebook, 75% of people ages 30 to 49 use the platform.
• While Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok have an especially strong following among adults ages 18 to 29, Americans ages 30 to 49 stand out for using LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Facebook at higher rates. 
• More millennials consider social media to be an essential part of their lives than any other age group.
• Millennials are more likely than Gen Z to be following small business and big brands, while Gen Z is more likely to be consuming (and spreading) social media trends and viral content.
• 41% of Gen Z say that the main reason they visit social media platforms is entertaining content, while millennials are mainly heading to social media to keep up with friends and family. 

• About three-quarters of adults under 30 use at least five social media platforms. This is far higher than those ages 30 to 49.
• Gen Z prefers brands that prioritize direct engagement over sheer content volume.
• Gen Z consumers are more apprehensive than millennials about brands utilizing AI in their social media interactions. Their primary concerns revolve around the potential for  poorer customer service, diminished authenticity and reduced human interaction.
• Like their Gen Z counterparts, millennials appreciate brands that prioritize customer responsiveness. However, they place a higher value on brands creating original content than on direct engagement.

Regardless of the ways in which the social media habits of college students vary by age, there’s no denying that social media has solidified its role as an information, entertainment and connection source for these demographics. With this in mind, it’s easy to see the importance of  including social media marketing in your campus advertising efforts.

See our complete guide to advertising to university students.

Editor's Note: This post has been fully updated as of January 2025.

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