Facebook remains Australia’s most widely and frequently used social media platform, according to DemosAU’s survey of 1,797 Australians adult Australians during April 2024.

More than eight out of ten (84%) report accessing Facebook for at least some period of time each week, which is more than any other platform (See Social Media Usage in Australia for more details). 

Australians also spend more time on the platform than any other. The median Australian spends between 2-3 hours on the platform, which compares to one hour for Youtube and less than one hour for other platforms, though there are certainly demographic pockets where usage of other platforms is higher – for instance the median 18-24 year old spends 4-5 hours on TikTok).

Demographic Spread

18-24 year olds

Contrary to the what you may have heard, Facebook isn’t quite dead when it comes to younger adult users. 

In fact, 81% of 18-24 year olds reported spending at least some time on Facebook most weeks, which is lower than most other demographics, but not by that much. However, they tend to spend less time on the platform – only around an hour a week on average. 

By contrast, this cohort reports spending 2-3 hours on average on YouTube and Instagram and, as previously mentioned, 4-5 hours on TikTok

25-34 year olds

This cohort are the biggest Facebook users of all, with 90% reporting they would use the platform at some point in an average week. While the average person in this cohort uses Facebook between 2-3 hours a week – many are considerably more active – with 11% of people reporting using more than 10 hours a week.

People in this age group tend to spend a similar amount of time on Instagram and YouTube (2-3 hours a week) but less on TikTok compared to their younger peers – with the median person using it for around an hour a week.

35-44 year olds

People aged 35-44 follow similar usage habits to those aged 25-34, with 89% reporting using Facebook at some point in an average week, and the average person spending 2-3 hours on the platform, and a similar amount of time on YouTube.

However, they only spent an hour a week on Instagram and less than an hour on TikTok. 

45-54 year olds

84% of people in this aged bracket used Facebook at some point in an average week and, as with the previous two demographics, the average person spent 2-3 hours on it a week. This cohort was also contained the largest number of respondents who spent more than 10 hours on the platform a week (16%). 

They also spent around 2-3 hours a week on YouTube on average, however, 53% said they did not use Instagram at all, while 76% did not use TikTok.

55 and Older

Among this age bracket, 80% of respondents reported using Facebook at some point in an average week, however they spent less time on the platform compared to other cohorts – with the median user spending around an hour a week on it. 

By comparison, 71% used YouTube at some point in a normal week, while 23% used Instagram and only 15% had accessed TikTok.

The extent of Facebook usage in Australia and its wide reach across demographics make it an obvious choice for advertisers and organisations trying to reach the broadest possible audience. However, YouTube isn’t far behind in terms of its broad reach, while TikTok and Facebook’s Meta stablemate Instagram