According to Futurism, X’s user base has been stagnating miserably since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022. Pew Research Center data shows the percentage of Americans using X dropped from 22% in 2024 to just 21% today, while TikTok grew 4% and Instagram grew 3% over the same period. The platform saw particularly dramatic declines among young users aged 18-29, dropping from 42% to 33% usage. Other research shows even worse numbers, with one dataset indicating X hemorrhaged users by 10% year-over-year from Q2 2024 to 2025. Despite Musk’s promises to transform the platform into an “everything app” with banking and messaging features, the data suggests his vision isn’t attracting new users.
Young users fleeing
Here’s the thing about losing the 18-29 demographic: they’re the ones who drive engagement, create content, and ultimately determine whether a platform feels relevant or like digital ghost town. A 9-point drop in just one year among this crucial group is basically catastrophic for any social media company. And when you consider that these same users are flocking to TikTok and Instagram, it paints a pretty clear picture of where the energy and innovation in social media is actually happening.
The everything app dream
So what happened to Musk’s grand vision of X becoming this all-in-one super app? The reality is that adding banking features or video capabilities doesn’t matter if people don’t want to spend time on your platform in the first place. When your core user experience feels like navigating through political arguments and controversial content, why would anyone trust you with their financial transactions? The fundamental problem isn’t feature gaps—it’s that the platform has become less appealing to the very users who made Twitter valuable in the first place.
Broader context
Looking at the Pew Research data alongside industry trends, what’s striking is how X is moving in the opposite direction of the entire social media landscape. While most platforms are seeing steady growth, X is either stagnant or declining. And when you consider Musk’s other ventures—Tesla’s brand damage, the Boring Company’s struggles—it raises questions about whether this is part of a broader pattern. Can someone who’s spread so thin across multiple complex businesses really give any single one the attention it needs to thrive?
What’s next for X?
The real question now is whether there’s any coming back from this. Social media platforms tend to have pretty predictable lifecycles, and once they start losing their core young user base, the decline often accelerates. Musk’s response has been to double down on controversial content and political positioning, which might appeal to a specific segment but clearly isn’t attracting the broader audience needed for sustainable growth. At this point, turning X into that promised “everything app” seems less likely with each passing quarter of stagnant user numbers.
