The photo and video sharing platform Instagram has become especially popular among young adults and teens. The site—a home for online influencers, political and election news and disinformation campaigns—has come under scrutiny after recently leaked research concluded that parent company Facebook knew the use of the site can have negative mental health effects for teenagers, especially teen girls. Over the years, Pew Research Center has studied how U.S. adults—as well as teens and children—use and engage with the platform. Here are seven key takeaways from their research.

  1. 4 in 10 Americans say they use Instagram.

  2. Young adults are the most likely group to say they use Instagram.

  3. A majority of adult Instagram users in the U.S. say they use the site at least once a day, and 38 percent say they use the site several times per day. 

  4. In a spring 2018 survey, roughly seven-in-ten U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 (72 percent) said they used the site. 

  5. Children ages 11 and younger also engage with Instagram, though in relatively small shares.

  6. About 3 in 10 Americans knew in 2019 that Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook.

  7. Instagram is not the topmost social media site for getting news.