5 Social Media Platforms That Had a Good 2022
Reading Time: 4 minutesCertain social media platforms enjoyed extra time in the spotlight and rising user numbers in 2022.
Turning to social media is a grand way to spend your free time. It makes for an awesome distraction if you’re a consumer, and it could even lead to a career and income if you’re a creator.
The already established apps are constantly fighting for users’ attention among themselves and all the newcomers that come on the block. Without trusting numbers alone, let’s see which social media platforms had a good 2022.
1. Mastodon
Mastodon rose in popularity after the Musk-Twitter will-they-won’t-they saga unfurled. All of a sudden, Twitter’s future became less secure, so users sought to find suitable alternatives, and Mastodon was a frontrunner.
Departing Twitter users sought to try it out and discovered it was worth staying. The platform is a decentralized social network. It doesn’t grant you access to a single place but a range of federated instances, a network of users, and separate communities that can interact with each other.
Mastodon has some unique selling points—no recommendation algorithms, no ads, it’s not for profit, and it says it places users above all else. The social media platform’s traffic and user base skyrocketed in 2022. Time will tell whether Mastodon can hold onto its impressive numbers or not.
Download: Mastodon for iOS | Android (Free)
2. BeReal
BeReal has been a fairly new player on the social media platform board since it came about in 2019, but it’s fast-growing. Once you download the app, it asks you to show what you’re up to every day at a different time. That way, you can’t stage your actions but are caught off guard and have no choice but to ‘be real’. Don’t worry though—you can retake a BeReal.
BeReal takes a selfie and a main camera photo simultaneously to avoid staging. Every user has two minutes to capture and share the photo showcasing their activity. Once you and your friends post, you can react to and comment on each other’s authentic posts. Since it’s such a tight time span that applies to every single user, you should expect BeReal crashes from time to time.
People have certainly fallen in love with the idea of the app, and its user base has grown exponentially in 2022. Users also don’t stop at only sharing on the platform itself but also share their BeReals on other social media apps, like Instagram and Twitter. The app such a hit that both Snapchat and Instagram are introducing similar features on their platforms to entice users back to them.
Download: BeReal for iOS | Android (Free)
3. TikTok
TikTok is the place to be for short-form content, be it as a creator or consumer. It’s a super user-friendly app that can eat up hours of your time without you realizing it.
Since it came on the scene, the social media app has continued to grow and grow—and 2022 is no exception. The platform’s user base has increased, and the app’s popularity is only rising. Though TikTok is similar to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, it remains in the lead among user preferences.
There’s no slowing down for TikTok as every meme, trend, and pretty much everything can be found there.
Download: TikTok for iOS | Android (Free)
4. Pinterest
Pinterest has been around for a long time, and it’s always been something you use in the background. Looking for inspiration for a tattoo design? Try Pinterest. Trying to redecorate your home? Look for ideas on Pinterest. Doing an event? Craft a theme with the help of Pinterest. Outfit inspo? Hair, makeup, and nails ideas? Just go to Pinterest.
Despite most people seeming to use it, it wasn’t among the most talked about apps. However, research done in 2021 by Pew Research determined that Pinterest ranked as the fourth most popular social media site in the US in 2021. And in 2022, it’s expected to hold onto its popularity as it boasts an increased number of active users—as of the third quarter of 2022, it’s 445 million monthly active users globally, according to Statista.
Though it’s not an app you can lose hours to, like TikTok, and maybe there are better alternatives to Pinterest, don’t discount it just yet. Many web users turn to it and showcase their findings on other platforms, prompting other users to do the same as a chain reaction. So 2022 was good to Pinterest, and it seems to only go up.
Download: Pinterest for iOS | Android (Free)
5. Instagram
Instagram has always been at the front of pretty much every tally to do with social media apps. It boasts a mind-boggling two billion active users worldwide, and that number’s projected to continue to grow with time.
And is that really so surprising? Instagram managed to overtake Snapchat with its Stories feature, and it’s now fighting for attention with TikTok thanks to its Reel feature. And, though it can’t compete just yet, it’s certainly holding its own.
Sure, most times, people spend their time browsing the social media platform because they see it as a backup platform to share content initially made for other places. But it still counts.
For example, it’s more than usual to see reposted TikToks and BeReals on Instagram instead of originally created Reels. However, that still means that users choose to go to Instagram and post stuff—it’s holding onto its users. Instagram is still among the top-used apps, and it’s had a pretty good year competing for attention.
Download: Instagram for iOS | Android (Free)
Is There Even a ‘Best’ and Does It Matter?
Looking at all these lists comparing the best social media platforms, you wonder if such a thing can even exist. After all, all the comparisons are based on entirely different metrics. So how can it be a fair comparison?
Sure, some apps tend to hover around the same top spots no matter the rubric, but that doesn’t automatically make them the best. For example, you can find Facebook as a staple on almost every ranking of the best social media platforms available, but is Facebook among the best?
Most people don’t use Facebook, not really. So don’t get swayed by online rankings, but do use what you feel like using and stay on the lookout for new and on-the-rise apps.
Reference: https://www.makeuseof.com/social-media-platforms-good-2022/