X is the place where news breaks first. And people are spending more time there than ever.
The average X user now spends 32 minutes per day on the platform, up from 24 minutes in mid-2024, a 33% increase in daily engagement. That growth coincides with X's emergence as the dominant real-time news platform: 59.7% of users say they come to X specifically for news and current events, making it the #1 social platform for news consumption worldwide (DataReportal, 2025).
Since Elon Musk's acquisition in October 2022, X has undergone a dramatic transformation. The platform now has 570 million monthly active users, with 259 million daily active users representing a 6.6% year-over-year increase (Backlinko, 2026; Charle Agency, 2026). Video content has surged, with video posts making up 42% of all media content and video consumption jumping 40% year-over-year in 2024 (Business of Apps, 2025). X set consecutive records for app downloads in August and September 2025, with the September record also setting a new mark for new user downloads (Nikita Bier, X Head of Product, 2025).
This page compiles comprehensive data on how much time people spend on X, how engagement patterns have shifted, and what the platform's growth trajectory looks like heading into 2026. All statistics are cited with sources.
| 32 minutes per day - Average time spent on X per user, up 33% from 24 minutes in mid-2024, reflecting surging engagement driven by video content and real-time news (X official, 2023; DemandSage, 2025) |
| 570 million monthly active users - X's global user base as of early 2026, with third-party estimates ranging from 557 to 610 million across measurement methodologies (Backlinko, 2026; DataReportal, 2025) |
| 59.7% use X primarily for news - The highest news-consumption rate of any social platform, cementing X as the world's real-time information hub (DataReportal, 2025) |
| 500 million+ posts per day - Approximately 360,000 posts per minute and 180 billion annually, demonstrating massive content velocity (Cross River Therapy, 2025) |
| Record app downloads in August and September 2025 - X broke its all-time download record twice in consecutive months, with September also setting a record for new user downloads (Nikita Bier, X Head of Product, 2025) |
| Ad revenue up 16.5% in 2025 - Estimated $2.26 billion in advertising revenue for 2025, marking a recovery trajectory after the post-acquisition dip (eMarketer, 2025) |
Table of Contents
- How Much Time Do People Spend on X?
- X vs Other Social Media Platforms
- X User Demographics
- X Engagement and Content Patterns
- X Growth Over Time
- X as the World's News Platform
- Video and Spaces: X's Content Evolution
- Mental Health and X Usage
- How to Manage X Screen Time
- FAQ
How Much Time Do People Spend on X?
X usage has been climbing steadily, with multiple data sources confirming increased engagement in 2025.
Daily Average Time
The average X user spends 32 minutes per day on the platform according to X's own data (X official blog, 2023). Third-party measurements vary but tell a consistent story of growth:
- 34.1 minutes per day for US adults aged 18+ (eMarketer, 2025)
- 29 minutes per day for Android users globally (DataReportal/Semrush, May 2025)
- 28 minutes per day total average across all devices (Semrush, December 2025)
This translates to roughly:
- 3.7 hours per week
- 16 hours per month
- 195 hours per year (8.1 full days)
- 5.6% of waking hours (assuming 8 hours of sleep)
Notably, the jump from 24 minutes in mid-2024 to 32 minutes represents a 33% increase in average daily engagement, one of the steepest engagement climbs of any major social platform during that period (DemandSage, 2025).
Session Behavior
X users don't just visit once per day. Data shows a multi-session pattern:
- 16 minutes and 5 seconds per visit on average (Semrush, December 2025)
- 42.6% daily open rate, meaning nearly half of all X users open the app on any given day (DataReportal, 2025)
- Multiple visits throughout the day, typically during news events, commutes, and breaks
Usage by Age Group
X's engagement varies by age, with younger demographics driving the highest time-on-platform numbers:
| Age Group | Share of Users | Engagement Level |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 28.8% | High (news, trending topics, video) |
| 25-34 | 29.58% | Highest (professional + news use) |
| 35-44 | 17.88% | Moderate-High |
| 45-54 | 11.47% | Moderate |
| 55-64 | 7.45% | Moderate |
| 65+ | 4.83% | Light |
Source: Similarweb, 2025
The 25-34 age group is X's largest demographic at 29.58%, followed closely by 18-24 at 28.8%. Together, these two groups make up 58.38% of the user base, representing a professional, news-engaged audience (Similarweb, 2025).
X vs Other Social Media Platforms
X occupies a unique position in the social media landscape: it trails entertainment-focused platforms in total time but dominates in news and real-time engagement.
Daily Time Comparison
| Platform | Avg Daily Time | Primary Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 1h 37m | Entertainment/Video |
| YouTube | 1h 25m | Video/Education |
| 1h 13m | Visual/Social | |
| 1h 7m | Social/Groups | |
| 59m | Messaging | |
| Telegram | 30m | Messaging/Channels |
| X | 28-34m | News/Real-time |
| 19m | Discussion/Forums | |
| Snapchat | 17m | Messaging/AR |
| 10m | Discovery/Shopping | |
| 6m | Professional | |
| Threads | 4m | Text Social |
Source: DataReportal, 2025; Semrush, December 2025
X's 28-34 minutes daily positions it ahead of Reddit (19m), Snapchat (17m), and far ahead of Threads (4m), its most direct competitor. While X trails TikTok and YouTube in total time, the nature of X's engagement is fundamentally different: users come for real-time information, not passive entertainment.
Content Model Comparison
| Platform | Content Model | Session Type |
|---|---|---|
| X | Real-time text + video + Spaces | Active (searching, posting, discussing) |
| TikTok | Algorithmic short video | Passive (scrolling feed) |
| YouTube | Long + short video | Lean-back viewing |
| Photos + Reels + Stories | Mixed (browsing + posting) | |
| Threads | Text-based social | Light browsing |
X's engagement model is more active than most competitors. Users search for breaking news, participate in live Spaces conversations, post their own content, and discuss events in real time. This creates higher-value engagement per minute compared to passive-scroll platforms.
X User Demographics
X's user base skews young, male, and affluent, a profile that makes it uniquely valuable for news consumption, professional networking, and brand engagement.
User Base Size
- 570 million monthly active users worldwide (Backlinko, 2026)
- 259 million daily active users, up 6.6% year-over-year (Charle Agency, 2026)
- 500,000 new accounts created every day (The Social Shepherd, 2025)
- 3.8 billion visits per month with 759.7 million unique visitors in December 2025 (Semrush, 2026)
- Record app downloads in August and September 2025 (Nikita Bier, X Head of Product)
Geographic Distribution
| Rank | Country | Users (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 99-108 |
| 2 | Japan | 71.2 |
| 3 | Indonesia | 22.9-23.8 |
| 4 | India | 22.2-24.5 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 19.0-20.3 |
| 6 | Germany | 18.9 |
| 7 | Turkey | 18.5 |
| 8 | Brazil | 17.1-17.6 |
| 9 | Mexico | 16.4-16.8 |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | 15.0-15.4 |
Sources: DataReportal, 2025; Backlinko, 2026
The US remains X's largest market with over 100 million users, accounting for 22.67% of global traffic. Japan is the second-largest at 15.84% of traffic, reflecting X's outsized cultural relevance in Japanese media and entertainment (Semrush, January 2026).
Age Distribution
| Age Group | Share of X Users |
|---|---|
| 13-17 | 2% |
| 18-24 | 32.1% |
| 25-34 | 37.5% |
| 35-49 | 21.1% |
| 50+ | 7.3% |
Source: Statista, February 2025
69.6% of X users are between 18 and 34, making X a strongly millennial and Gen Z platform. The 25-34 group (37.5%) is the largest single cohort, which is notable: this represents professionals, creators, and active news consumers in their prime engagement years.
Gender Distribution
- 63.7% male, 36.3% female globally (Statista, 2025)
- X has the widest gender gap of any major social platform
- The male-skew has increased by approximately 6% since January 2023 (The Social Shepherd, 2025)
Income Distribution
X users tend to be affluent, which drives strong advertising value:
- 29% earn over $100,000 household income (Cross River Therapy, 2025)
- 20% earn $70,000-$99,999 (Cross River Therapy, 2025)
- 21% earn $30,000-$69,999 (Cross River Therapy, 2025)
Nearly half of US X users (49%) earn $70,000+ annually, making X's audience among the most affluent on any social platform.
X Engagement and Content Patterns
X's engagement metrics reveal a platform with massive content velocity and increasingly diverse content formats.
Content Volume
- 500 million+ posts per day (Cross River Therapy, 2025)
- 360,000 posts per minute
- 180 billion posts per year
- 42% of media posts are video, up 40% year-over-year (Business of Apps, 2025)
- 55% of total tweet impressions come from multimedia tweets (SQ Magazine, 2025)
Desktop vs Mobile
X has a uniquely high desktop usage rate compared to other social platforms:
- 58% desktop, 42% mobile for web traffic (Backlinko, 2026)
- This is significantly more desktop-heavy than Instagram (92% mobile) or TikTok (85% mobile)
- Desktop users tend to engage more deeply with linked content and long-form posts
Engagement Concentration
- 10% of X users generate 92% of all posts (Pew Research, 2020; Cross River Therapy, 2025)
- Active users post an average of 157 times per month
- The average US adult posts once per month
- Posts with images receive 150% more retweets than text-only posts (The Social Shepherd, 2025)
This concentration means X functions as both a broadcast platform (for the 10% power users) and a consumption platform (for the 90% who primarily read, like, and share). Both modes drive engagement time.
Platform Overlap
X users are highly active across other platforms, suggesting X fills a unique niche rather than competing head-to-head:
- 99.9% of X users also use at least one other social platform (DataReportal, 2025)
- 88.1% also use Instagram
- 81% also use YouTube
- 80.5% also use Facebook
- 64.3% also use TikTok
X Growth Over Time
X's growth story since the Musk acquisition shows a platform that weathered significant turbulence and emerged with growing engagement and a recovering revenue trajectory.
User Growth Timeline
| Period | Daily Active Users | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2020 | 166 million | Pre-pandemic baseline |
| Q4 2021 | 217 million | Peak pre-acquisition |
| Q2 2022 | 237.8 million | Pre-acquisition high |
| November 2022 | 259.4 million | Post-acquisition surge |
| 2025 | 259 million | Stabilized, +6.6% YoY |
Sources: Statista, 2025; Backlinko, 2026; Charle Agency, 2026
The data tells a clear story: X's daily user base grew from 166 million in early 2020 to 259 million in 2025, a 56% increase over five years. The post-acquisition period saw an initial surge to 259.4 million DAUs in November 2022, and the platform has maintained that level through 2025.
Download and Traffic Milestones
- Record app downloads in August 2025, beating the previous all-time record by 30% (Nikita Bier, 2025)
- Record broken again in September 2025, also setting a new user download record (Nikita Bier, 2025)
- 3.8 billion monthly visits in December 2025 (Semrush, 2026)
- Search volume for "X" up 30.7% among US users from January 2025 to January 2026 (Semrush, 2026)
Revenue Timeline
| Year | Ad Revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $4.46 billion | Peak year |
| 2022 | $4.14 billion | -7.2% |
| 2023 | $2.00 billion | -51.7% (advertiser boycott) |
| 2024 | $1.94 billion | -3.0% (stabilization) |
| 2025 (est.) | $2.26 billion | +16.5% (recovery) |
Source: eMarketer, 2025; Backlinko, 2026
After the steep post-acquisition ad revenue decline in 2023 (driven largely by advertiser boycotts rather than user loss), X's ad revenue stabilized in 2024 and is projected to grow 16.5% in 2025. Q2 2025 revenue hit approximately $707 million, representing a 20% year-over-year lift from Q2 2024 (MEF/Bloomberg, 2025).
Valuation Recovery
- X was valued at $19 billion in the October 2023 employee stock plan (Fortune, 2023)
- X has recently been valued at $44 billion, a full recovery to the original acquisition price (Financial Times, 2025)
- This represents a 131% valuation increase from the 2023 low
X as the World's News Platform
X has cemented its position as the dominant platform for real-time news consumption, a role no other social network has successfully replicated.
News Usage Statistics
- 59.7% of X users say they use the platform to keep up with news and current events, the highest rate of any social platform (DataReportal, 2025)
- 55% of Americans use X as a news source (Cross River Therapy, 2025)
- 79% of users say they use X to discover new things and follow current events (Cross River Therapy, 2025)
Why X Dominates News
X's architecture is uniquely suited to real-time information flow:
- Real-time posting: No algorithmic delay on chronological feeds. Breaking news appears instantly.
- Open graph: Unlike Facebook or Instagram, X posts are publicly searchable and shareable, making information spread faster.
- Spaces for live audio: Live conversations during major events draw millions of listeners.
- Community Notes: Crowdsourced fact-checking adds credibility layers to viral claims.
- Trending topics: Real-time topic tracking surfaces stories before traditional media can cover them.
What Users Do on X
| Activity | Share of Users |
|---|---|
| Keep up with news and current events | 59.7% |
| Follow or research brands and products | 38.1% |
| Look for funny or entertaining content | 35.7% |
| Post or share photos or videos | 28.3% |
| Message friends and family | 19.4% |
Source: DataReportal, 2025
X's news-first usage pattern is unique among social platforms. While TikTok and Instagram users primarily seek entertainment, and Facebook users focus on social connections, X users overwhelmingly come for information. This creates a fundamentally different engagement dynamic: X time is often productive, informative time rather than passive scrolling.
Video and Spaces: X's Content Evolution
X's transformation from a text-first platform to a multimedia hub represents one of the most significant content strategy shifts in social media.
Video Growth
- 42% of all media posts on X are now video (Business of Apps, 2025)
- Video consumption increased 40% year-over-year in 2024 (Business of Apps, 2025)
- 55% of total tweet impressions come from multimedia content (SQ Magazine, 2025)
- Brands using short-form X videos report 41% higher conversion rates (SQ Magazine, 2025)
- Native X videos outperform embedded YouTube links by 37% in engagement (SQ Magazine, 2025)
X Spaces (Live Audio)
X Spaces has emerged as a significant engagement driver, particularly during major news events, elections, and cultural moments:
- Spaces sessions during major events regularly draw hundreds of thousands of concurrent listeners
- The feature has become a key differentiator from Threads, Bluesky, and other text-based competitors
- Elon Musk's Spaces session with Donald Trump in August 2024 drew massive concurrent listenership, demonstrating the feature's reach
X Premium and Creator Economy
- X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) provides ad revenue sharing for verified creators
- Creator payouts have incentivized higher-quality content and increased posting frequency
- Accounts achieving 15-25% monthly follower growth through strategic content and trending topic engagement (RecurPost, 2026)
Mental Health and X Usage
Research on social media and mental health continues to evolve, with recent studies suggesting the relationship is more nuanced than early headlines indicated.
What the Research Shows
A 2024 study from Curtin University, published in Social Science & Medicine, found that the amount of time spent on social media may matter less for mental health than how people use it. Lead researcher Samuel Jeremic noted: "What this research could be flagging is how long we spend on social media might matter less for mental health, as opposed to how we're using it and engaging with it" (ScienceDaily, November 2024).
This finding is particularly relevant to X, where the dominant use case is active news consumption and discussion rather than passive comparison-based scrolling.
X-Specific Considerations
X's engagement pattern differs from platforms typically associated with negative mental health outcomes:
- Active vs passive use: X users primarily seek information and participate in discussions, a use pattern associated with better outcomes than passive scrolling (Curtin University, 2024)
- News engagement: 59.7% of users come for news, creating purpose-driven sessions rather than aimless browsing
- Desktop-heavy usage: X's 58% desktop traffic suggests more intentional, work-related use compared to mobile-first platforms
- Community Notes: X's fact-checking system helps reduce misinformation-related anxiety
Broader Context
Pew Research's 2025 study on teens and social media found that fewer teens now credit social media as a support system, with the share saying platforms help them feel supported declining from 67% in 2022 to 52% in 2024. However, this trend applies broadly across all platforms and is not specific to X (Pew Research, 2025).
The research consensus is shifting toward recognizing that how people use social media matters more than how much time they spend. Active, intentional use (like following news on X) appears to have different effects than passive consumption (like scrolling through image-based feeds).
How to Manage X Screen Time
Even with productive engagement, managing your time on any platform helps maintain balance. Here are practical approaches for X specifically:
- iOS Screen Time limits: Settings > Screen Time > App Limits > set a daily cap for X. A 30-45 minute daily limit preserves news access without overuse.
- Curate your feed: X's Lists feature lets you create focused feeds (e.g., "News," "Industry") so you get value quickly without falling into the trending topics rabbit hole.
- Disable notifications: Turn off everything except DMs from close contacts. The Explore tab will still surface important news when you open the app intentionally.
- Set designated check-in times: Rather than checking X throughout the day, batch your usage into 2-3 focused sessions (morning, lunch, evening).
- Home screen management: Moving X off your home screen adds a small friction barrier that reduces reflexive opens. Tools like Blank Spaces replace your app grid with a minimal interface, keeping X accessible but removing the visual trigger for habitual checking.
- Use Focus Mode: Create Focus profiles for work or sleep that block X notifications and hide the app during designated hours.
FAQ
How much time does the average person spend on X per day?
The average X user spends 28-34 minutes per day depending on the data source. X's own data reports 32 minutes, eMarketer estimates 34.1 minutes for US adults, and Semrush measures 28 minutes across all devices globally. This represents a significant increase from 24 minutes in mid-2024. (X official, 2023; eMarketer, 2025; Semrush, December 2025)
How many people use X daily?
Approximately 259 million people use X daily, a 6.6% year-over-year increase. Monthly active users total around 570 million worldwide. X also receives 3.8 billion monthly visits from 759.7 million unique visitors. (Charle Agency, 2026; Backlinko, 2026; Semrush, December 2025)
Is X growing or declining?
X is growing. Daily active users increased 6.6% year-over-year, the platform set consecutive app download records in August and September 2025, search volume for "X" grew 30.7% among US users, and ad revenue is projected to rise 16.5% in 2025. The platform's valuation has recovered from $19 billion to $44 billion. (Charle Agency, 2026; Nikita Bier, 2025; Semrush, 2026; eMarketer, 2025)
How does X screen time compare to other social media?
X's 28-34 minutes daily trails TikTok (1h 37m), YouTube (1h 25m), Instagram (1h 13m), and Facebook (1h 7m), but leads Reddit (19m), Snapchat (17m), Pinterest (10m), and Threads (4m). X's per-minute engagement value is uniquely high because users primarily consume news and participate in discussions rather than passively scrolling. (DataReportal, 2025; Semrush, December 2025)
What do people use X for?
59.7% of users come to X for news and current events, the highest rate of any social platform. Other common activities include following brands (38.1%), finding entertaining content (35.7%), posting photos/videos (28.3%), and messaging friends (19.4%). X is the world's leading platform for real-time information. (DataReportal, 2025)
What is X's biggest demographic?
The 25-34 age group is X's largest at 37.5% of users, followed by 18-24 at 32.1%. Together, nearly 70% of X users are between 18 and 34. The user base is 63.7% male, and 29% of US users earn over $100,000 annually, making X one of the most affluent social media audiences. (Statista, 2025; Similarweb, 2025; Cross River Therapy, 2025)
Is X the best platform for news?
By user behavior data, yes. 59.7% of X users say their primary reason for using the platform is news, the highest of any social network. 55% of Americans use X as a news source, and 79% say they use it to discover new things. X's real-time posting, open architecture, and trending topics make it uniquely suited for breaking news. (DataReportal, 2025; Cross River Therapy, 2025)
How can I manage my X screen time?
The most effective strategies: (1) Set iOS Screen Time limits at 30-45 minutes daily, (2) curate your feed with Lists for focused consumption, (3) disable all non-essential notifications, (4) batch usage into 2-3 daily check-ins, and (5) move X off your home screen to reduce reflexive opens. X's engagement tends to be more intentional than passive-scroll platforms, so managing triggers is more effective than strict time limits.
Conclusion
X has transformed since the 2022 acquisition, and the data tells a growth story. Users now spend 32 minutes per day on the platform, up 33% from mid-2024. The 570 million monthly active users and 259 million daily users (up 6.6% YoY) show a platform that is expanding, not contracting. Consecutive download records in August and September 2025, a 30.7% increase in search volume, and a valuation recovery from $19 billion to $44 billion further support the growth trajectory.
What makes X unique among social platforms is its role as the world's real-time information hub. 59.7% of users come primarily for news, the highest rate on any social network. This creates a fundamentally different engagement model: X time is often informative, active, and purpose-driven rather than passive scrolling.
The platform's content evolution is equally notable. Video content now makes up 42% of all media posts with 40% year-over-year growth in video consumption. 500 million+ posts per day create massive content velocity. Spaces provides live audio engagement during major events. And the creator economy, powered by X Premium revenue sharing, is incentivizing higher-quality content creation.
X's user base is predominantly young (69.6% aged 18-34), male (63.7%), and affluent (49% of US users earning $70,000+). The 58% desktop usage rate is the highest of any major social platform, suggesting work-related and professional use patterns that complement mobile news checking.
For the majority of X users, the platform serves a clear purpose: staying informed. Managing your time on X is about ensuring that purpose-driven use stays intentional. Curating your feed with Lists, batching your check-ins, and removing X from your home screen with tools like Blank Spaces can help you capture X's unique value as a news and information platform without letting it consume more time than you intend.
Sources
- Backlinko (2026) for user base, daily active users, and growth statistics
- DataReportal (2025) for global usage, demographics, and platform comparison data
- Charle Agency (2026) for daily active user growth and revenue data
- Exploding Topics (2026) for user demographics, time spent, and traffic data
- DemandSage (2025) for engagement metrics and monthly active users
- eMarketer (2025) for US screen time estimates and ad revenue projections
- Business of Apps (2025) for revenue data and video content statistics
- Cross River Therapy (2025) for posting volume, income demographics, and news usage data
- Similarweb (2025) for age demographics and traffic data
- Statista (2025) for age distribution and global user data
- SQ Magazine (2025) for video engagement and multimedia tweet data
- Curtin University via ScienceDaily (2024) for mental health research
- Pew Research Center (2025) for teen social media and mental health data
- The Social Shepherd (2025) for user growth and gender demographics
- RecurPost (2026) for creator growth and engagement strategies
