The Italian social media market is going through a saturation phase and, for the first time, we are also witnessing one overall contraction in the use of some platformshighlighted by the data of Audicom-Audiweb analyzed by the expert Vincenzo Cosenzawho spoke about it atHANDLE. According to Cosenza «there is an unprecedented contraction in the use of some social networks that begins in 2024 and continues in the first months of 2025. Between January-September 2024 and 2025 there is a loss of 0.16% of overall users and a rebalancing of flows between platforms». And it doesn’t end here. The expert, in fact, reported to ANSA that «in the coming months (…) social media will undergo a transformation due to the massive entry of content produced with artificial intelligence». Specifically, X has suffered a -27.6% use and Twitch (-35%), while Reddit (+81%) and Threads (+31.6%) explode and the time spent on TikTok (+27%). YouTube confirms itself as the most used social platform in Italy with 37.1 million users.
How much the use of social media has decreased in Italy
Between January and September 2025compared to the same period of 2024, there is a slight, but unprecedented, loss of 0.16% in the overall number of users, marking a moment of rebalancing of flows. The most striking fact is the vertical collapse of Xthe former Twitter, which lost well 4.4 million userswith a reduction of 27.6% in use in the final months of 2025 and a decrease in time spent of approximately 30%.
Signs of fatigue are also found in historical platforms such as InstagramThat drops by 1.9%And Facebook, That loses 1 million users. In this scenario, TikTok maintains a stable position, standing out for a notable 27% increase nel time of use by users, while platforms such as Twitch (–35%), Snapchat (–4.4%) And Tumblr (–40%) are in strong regression. The only real growth is driven by “little outsiders” like Redditthe famous forum aggregator that has registered a +81% in 2025And ThreadsMeta’s direct rival X’s microblogging platform, with an increase of 31.6%.
These numbers present us with an important redefinition of Italians’ digital habits. The ranking still sees him in first place YouTubewith an audience of 37.1 million people, and a rather limited drop in users. Continued Facebook with 35.8 million userswhich despite the decrease of 1 million users in the first nine months of 2025, remains the platform where Italians spend the most time: on average 13 hours and 29 minutes per month. On the last step of the podium we find Instagramwith almost 32.9 million users and which, as mentioned, shows fatigue. TikTokhowever, remains stable in fourth place with 22.4 million users. He rises to fifth place Telegram with 16.5 million usersdecreasing slightly in recent months. LinkedInthe social network focused on the professional world, is positioned in sixth place due to the continuous and significant decline, largely due to the low use by users (just 15 minutes a month). The most critical situation is for Xwhich ranks seventh due to the drop in users that we already told you about earlier.
How AI could further change the social world
Second Vincenzo Cosenza the picture will be further redefined in the coming months, when AI will dominate the social world with artificially generated content and with the integration of chatbots to increase engagement (i.e. the involvement and interaction of users), with Meta already at the forefront (there are functions that allow you to create chatbots on Instagram, for example, with which users can communicate) and X which, thanks to the integration with Grok, could also try to catch up. In this scenario of stalemate and rebalancing, the AI could represent the variable intended for shake up the industry.
