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Social media apps are displayed in a social media folder on the screen of an Apple iPhone 6 in this arranged photograph taken in London.
Bloomberg News photo by Chris Ratcliffe
Social media apps are displayed in a social media folder on the screen of an Apple iPhone 6 in this arranged photograph taken in London.
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It’s clear that more and more of you are uploading photos of your dog or a tasty meal and cocktail to Instagram. And we know you’re busy pinning wedding ideas or DIY projects to your Pinterest boards.

Naturally, you use Facebook too, as it still rules as the most popular social media platform, but Instagram and Pinterest both have gained ground in users and engagement, according to a new report issued by the Pew Research Center based on a survey of about 1,900 adults nationwide who were asked about their use of social media platforms. It’s unclear whether the users had accounts for the sites.

The number of adults who use the Internet and get on Instagram and Pinterest has doubled since 2012. Pinterest saw its usage go from 15 percent of online adults in 2012 to 31 percent in 2015. Likewise, 28 percent of adults who surf the Web use Instagram, up from 13 percent in 2012. Comparatively, 72 percent of adult Internet users logged on to Facebook.

It could be the typical trajectory of technology—slow to take off, followed by a steep increase when it does catch on, said Stephanie Edgerly, assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

However, none of the major social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or LinkedIn—saw significant growth in number of users over the past eight months. She said it’s too soon to say whether the popularities of the sites have plateaued.

Instagram and Pinterest, for example, offer different user experiences and appeal to a smaller audience than Facebook, she said. “They’re not going to rival Facebook. They are more niche social media websites,” Edgerly said.

What’s more telling, she said, is that the report found Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn users logged on more often.

From September 2014 to April 2015, Instagram users who visited the site on a daily basis went up from 49 percent to 59 percent. Pinterest users who checked the site daily grew from 17 percent to 27 percent. LinkedIn daily users rose from 13 percent to 22 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of Twitter users who get on daily remained relatively flat, bumping up from 36 percent in 2014 and 38 percent in 2015. Facebook had the most engaged users at 70 percent, a stat that didn’t change over that same time period.

The uptick in daily frequency for users of some of the social media platforms can indicate the site’s strength and longevity in a chaotic tech environment, Edgerly said.

Having users visit the site more frequently instead of randomly can create an opportunity for platforms to charge advertisers more, she said.

“They can maintain a profit with having a small audience so long as they demonstrate the audience is engaged,” Edgerly said.

The report showed Millennials ages 18 to 29 dominated usage of each social media platform over any other age group with the exception of LinkedIn, which was used most by Gen Xers ages 30 to 49. It could be because older people are more motivated to develop professional networks compared with Millennials, who are still in college or working their first job, Edgerly said.

The survey also asked smartphone owners about using messaging apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp and using auto-delete apps like Snapchat.

Results found that 36 percent used messaging apps and 17 percent used apps that automatically delete messages. For Millennials, the stats were higher. Nearly half of young adults ages 18 to 29 use messaging apps, and 41 percent said they use auto-delete apps.

“These apps are free, and when connected to Wi-Fi they do not use up SMS [Short Messaging Service] or other data,” the report said. “Furthermore, they offer a more private kind of social interaction than traditional social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.”