New Data – Have Bluesky or Threads Dethroned X-Twitter
Just in from the field! NuVoodoo Media Services’ first consumer digital media study of the new year. We’re sharing feedback from our randomly screened & compensated nationwide sample of just over 2900 U.S consumers (over the age of 13). We completed interviews with 755 Gen Z’s, 757 Millennials, 662 Gen Xers, and 734 Baby Boomers as of early January 2025. Results paint a broad portrait of digital media trends.
The Battle of the Text-Based Communication Platforms
This ecosystem, encompassing Bluesky, Threads, and X/Twitter, represents a specific subset of social media platforms focused on text-based communication, real-time conversations, and microblogging. Compared to other social media categories like visual platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok), video platforms (e.g. YouTube) or professional networks (e.g., LinkedIn), these platforms cater to users who value news-sharing, public discourse, and community-driven engagement over purely visual or entertainment-focused interactions.
X/Twitter caters to a broad audience, including journalists, politicians, and brands, emphasizing global conversations and trend-setting. Bluesky focuses on decentralization and privacy, attracting tech-savvy and niche users disenchanted with traditional platforms. Threads, integrated with Instagram, aims to leverage its mainstream audience but faces challenges differentiating itself within this ecosystem.
Which Platform is Most Used as of January 2025?
While X/Twitter has a measurable lead in usage according to NuVoodoo’s January 2025 digital media study, its margin over Threads and Bluesky isn’t overwhelming, especially among younger demographics. This suggests a competitive ecosystem where no platform has yet achieved unassailable dominance. As a result, other digital ecosystems dominate this triumvirate.
Overall Trends: Twitter/X’s Marginal Lead
- Daily Usage Advantage:
- X/Twitter’s 26% daily (or greater) usage across the total sample does give it a clear lead over Threads (18%) and Bluesky (14%). However, the gap is not insurmountable, especially since Threads has the Instagram integration to potentially draw in casual users, and Bluesky is carving out a niche among privacy-conscious early adopters.
- Generational Dynamics:
- Among Gen Z and Millennials, X/Twitter’s daily usage advantage is only 6–10 percentage points, which suggests its dominance is not as strong in the younger, more active social media demographics. In contrast, among Gen X and Boomers, X/Twitter’s lead widens, but engagement overall for all three platforms is much lower in these demographics.
Generational Breakdown
- Gen Z:
- X/Twitter has the highest daily usage at 33%, followed by Threads (26%) and Bluesky (21%).
- A majority of Gen Z users still use Bluesky (72%) and Threads (66%) less often than once a week or not at all (most, in fact, don’t have an account), but X/Twitter maintains higher engagement.
- Millennials:
- Similar trends: 37% of Millennials use X/Twitter at least daily, compared to Threads (27%) and Bluesky (21%).
- Bluesky sees slightly lower daily or greater engagement but aligns closely with Threads in terms of disuse or rare usage.
- Gen X:
- X/Twitter retains the lead, but with only 23% daily+ usage, while Threads (15%) and Bluesky (9%) lag significantly.
- Non-use is very high for Bluesky (88%) and Threads (80%) compared to X/Twitter (68%), but even that’s a super majority of Xers.
- Boomers+:
- Engagement is the lowest across all platforms in this group.
- X/Twitter has the highest daily usage at 9%, while Threads (2%) and Bluesky (1%) struggle to gain traction.
- Non-use is dominant, with Bluesky (97%) and Threads (96%) nearly universally unused by Boomers+.
While X/Twitter has successfully staved off the competitive upstarts of Threads and Bluesky, it is not a story of triumph or growth. Instead, it reflects a platform barely holding on to its core audience while failing to meaningfully expand or innovate. In fact, the current use rates are smaller than under Twitter’s previous regime according to our past data, suggesting the rebranding and Musk-led disruption may have cost the platform both users and advertisers.
The lack of growth leaves a clear opportunity for competitors to capitalize on user dissatisfaction—though neither Threads nor Bluesky has yet been able to decisively fill the void. The text-based social media ecosystem remains competitive, but X/Twitter’s lack of growth is the elephant in the room that underscores its vulnerability. As you’ll soon see, for advertisers looking to more efficiently reach highly targeted audiences, there are much more widely used platforms to consider.
