The state of social media in 2025: Data from Sprout’s latest pulse survey

A new Instagram app. So many (too many?) AI-generated action figures. Le Poisson Steve.

Not even halfway through 2025, we’ve endured enough platform news and unexpected content trends to fill at least three full year calendars. Which is why at Sprout we’re constantly checking in with audiences and social marketers to understand what’s landing in today’s social landscape, what’s falling flat and whether brands really need to concern themselves with the latest form of brain rot.

Our recent Q2 2025 Pulse Survey of over 2,000 social media users across the US, UK and Australia dug into an array of issues—from which emerging platforms are piquing audiences attention (and why) to what people really think it means for brands to be bold on social. Here is what we found.

The emerging platforms consumers turn to and why

Between boycotts, bans and new entrants, the last couple years have created unprecedented levels of network fragmentation. More than ever, social teams (and their leaders) are asking questions about which emerging platforms they need to prioritize and how to allocate already limited internal resources.

Sprout’s latest data shows that social users are most eager to increase their time on community-based platforms like Reddit in the near term, more so than nascent spaces like Bluesky or Mastodon. Regardless of platform type, Gen Z and Millennials are most likely to drive adoption. Male users are also more likely than female users to want to test these platforms.

But what’s pushing people into new territory? Across demographics, consumers’ primary motivation for trying new platforms is when they already know people using them—signaling a potential desire to get away from sponsored content and back to the essence of OG, human-to-human social. Gen Z is slightly more likely to be swayed if influencers they like already have a presence on those platforms.

A surprising twist on the personal impacts of social media

Debates about social media’s impact on our wellbeing go back as far as the original networks themselves. More recently, they’ve served as the basis for proposed social media age limits in certain regions. But across the board, our Pulse Survey respondents feel the pros of social far outweigh the cons.

Most consumers (60%) say social has had a positive effect on their mental health over the last six months, compared to only 18% who report a negative effect. More than half (53%) say it’s positively impacted their social lives, and 47% feel it’s improved their financial decisions. There’s a reason “edutainment” continues to top the list of content types audiences seek out on social. People want to learn something new, and they want it delivered in a compelling way.

Across each of these areas, younger generations are the most optimistic. Rather than perceive social as a time suck, a magnet for impulse purchases or a solo activity, Gen Z and Millennials are curating their feeds to become a welcome reprieve from troubling current events and mining platforms for much needed financial education (e.g., FinTok) and community bonding that is additive to their in-person social circles.

How consumers want brands to show up right now

No day passes in the world of social without a new example of brands striving to be unhinged, or a marketer waxing poetic about the importance of authenticity. But how does this line up with audience expectations?

Our research shows that consumers perceive “bold” brands to be honest and inspirational—more so than trendy, funny or unfiltered.

Reinforcing our findings from The 2025 Sprout Social Index™, the companies that stand out on social are those that are upfront about their products, services and what they stand for. So it’s unsurprising that the #1 thing audiences would call out brands for is being unethical—more so than their pricing, or the stances they take on public issues.

Growing demand for serialized content

In this context, it’s clear people aren’t opening up their social apps just to see a stream of brands jumping on the latest AI-generated content trend. When asked what brands should prioritize most on social right now, consumers put equal weight on audience interactions and publishing original, recurring content series.

 

Like The 2025 Content Benchmarks Report highlights, making an impact on social isn’t necessarily about posting more—it’s about creating valuable content and connections. Serialized content gives brands the room to tell richer stories and make their customers feel seen.

Respondents told us that they’re most compelled to engage with brand series when they tell complete stories within each post or episode, and when they feature a cast of characters they get to know over time. The best part? These constraints are network and format agnostic.

eBay Motors’ recently went all-in on an Instagram series where they sent two auto influencers to the 2025 Miami Grand Prix (the first two episodes alone earned nearly 5 million views). Taking video completely out of the equation, dating app Hinge announced the second “season” of its No Ordinary Love Substack series, where writers tell the real love stories of couples who met through the platform.

Social media and the customer journey

We’ve said it before but it bears repeating: All business is social. Our latest data confirms that brands need to be investing in social as a full-funnel channel (not just a peripheral tactic)—or risk losing market share to competitors that do.

Exhibit A: the rise of social search. While most people’s primary instinct when looking for information is still to turn to traditional search engines—Gen Z ranks social as the #1 place they turn to. Whether they’re looking for product reviews, restaurant recommendations or how-to tutorials, audiences increasingly want answers from real people (and often, in video form). Social networks deliver on both.

As consumers devote more attention to their feeds, the potential for social to drive real-world financial implications grows. No matter how you look at it, the actions brands take—or fail to—on social impact audiences’ decision to buy or defect.

More than three-quarters (76%) of Pulse Survey respondents say social (be it ads, influencer or brand content) has impacted their purchases over the last six months. And almost as many (64%) say when a brand partners with one of their favorite influencers, they’re more willing to buy.

 

Even in a difficult economic climate, younger generations are more likely to buy things they discover on social. Between the downstream impacts of tariffs and continued corporate layoffs, only 28% of all consumers say they’re more likely to buy something they found through social in the coming months. This rises to 43% for Gen Z and 36% for Millennials—proving that audiences are still willing to pay for the right product or service.

Center your strategy around the (current) state of social media

The smartest changes to any social strategy are driven by real audience insights, not random stakeholder requests. Whether you’re debating a shift to a new platform or building out your content plans for the months ahead, let these Pulse Survey findings serve as a valuable gut check.

In some ways, the state of social media right now is more complicated than ever. But our data hints at a few ways brands can start to simplify: Find opportunities to restore the 1:1 nature that so many users miss about the early days of social. Free your team from chasing questionable trends and instead focus on original content series only your brand can own. Most importantly, don’t underestimate the business results social can drive—when you invest wisely.

For more insights around how marketers can adapt to the current state of social media, download The 2025 Sprout Social Index™.