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New study reveals most ‘social media obsessed’ state and it’s not what you’d think Credits: Social Media
By Ellissa Bain

New study reveals most ‘social media obsessed’ state and it’s not what you’d think

By Ellissa Bain

A new study has revealed the 10 most ‘social media obsessed’ states in the US, and there’s one surprising region that doesn’t make the list.

The study analyzed online search volumes for terms like ‘Facebook’ and ‘Instagram’ in each state to determine which are most invested in social media.���

Children Screen Time Rockets
BATH, UNITED KINGDOM – DECEMBER 19: A 12-year-old boy looks at an iPhone screen showing various social media apps including TikTok, Facebook and X, on December 19, 2023 in Bath, England. The amount of time children spend on screens each day rocketed during the Covid pandemic by more than 50 per cent, the equivalent of an extra hour and twenty minutes. Researchers say that unmoderated screen time can have long-lasting effects on a child’s mental and physical health. Recently TikTok announced that every account belonging to a user below age 18 have a 60-minute daily screen time limit automatically set. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Most ‘social media obsessed’ state

Digital marketing agency Hennessey Digital found that the most ‘social media obsessed’ state is Oregon.

They examined average monthly search volumes for the words ‘Facebook’, ‘Instagram’, ‘TikTok’, ‘Reddit’, ‘LinkedIn’, ‘YouTube’ and ‘Pinterest’. These were then considered per 100,000 people to find out which is the most social media-obsessed states.��

Residents in Oregon searched for these social media platforms 140,378 times per 100,000 people over the last 12 months. YouTube is the most popular platform, with 53,541 average monthly searches per 100,000 people, followed by Facebook and then Instagram.���

Oregon is an unexpected result as it’s quite a small state in terms of population, 27th on the list at just over 4.2 million people as of July 2023.

USA states on map: Oregon
USA states on map: Oregon. Credit: ilbusca (Getty Images)

10 most ‘social media obsessed’ states

The study found that these were the top 10 most social media obsessed states:

  1. Oregon – 140,376�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  2. Maine – 139,460�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  3. Massachussets – 139,266�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  4. New York – 138,163�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  5. Washington – 136,373�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  6. Virginia – 135,893�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  7. Maryland – 135,875�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  8. Georgia – 134,690�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  9. New Hampshire – 133,911�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
  10. North Carolina – 133,110�(average monthly search volume: per 100,000)�
Colorful United States vector map illustration with state labels
Colorful United States vector map illustration with state labels. Credit: RLT_Images (Getty Images)

Study results are surprising

There’s one shocking state that didn’t make the list – California!

It’s the biggest state in terms of population, with a staggering 40 million people as of July 2023, and most would consider the state to be extremely social media obsessed.

California is home to most of the world’s biggest social media sites, with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn and Pinterest all headquartered there, and many of the most popular influencers.

The two next most-populated states, Florida and Texas, didn’t make the cut either.

Jason Hennessey, CEO of Hennessey Digital, said it’s interesting to see that the most popular social media platform in the study is YouTube.

“This may suggest that people are more interested in video-based content or, on the other hand, that people are less likely to have YouTube downloaded as an app, boosting online searches in turn,” he said.