TikTok dominates the social media world.

It is because millions of users are downloading the app all around the globe. Recently, I discussed how powerful the algorithm was in knowing what viewers want and keeping them hooked.

You’ll probably hear TikTok mentioned instead of Facebook and Twitter when you ask someone about the app that is currently on top. It’s constantly trending.

That’s why a recent report by Statista Market Insights suggesting another app will dethrone TikTok by 2027 seemed so surprising.

You might have heard it.

That’s right, it’s Instagram.

One report explains all the important details about the past of these apps. Let’s start with Instagram, the underdog among the big three (which includes Facebook and TikTok — sadly, Twitter is in such steep decline of late that it barely registers on these reports).

Instagram’s growth has been about 53% during the last four-year period, reaching 1.33 billion monthly users. Facebook grew faster than its Meta-owned sister app, reaching 2.72 billion active users during the same time period. Curious to note that the growth rate was only 36%, but I’m sure Mark Zuckerberg isn’t complaining too much. Facebook still dominates the social media chain.

Then there’s TikTok. During that same four-year period, TikTok grew by 202% (thanks to all of those downloads I’m sure) to hit 1.92 billion users in 2023. Great — case closed, right? It’s clear why TikTok has become so popular on social media.

Keep that in mind. Statista predicts that Instagram’s growth will be 17.2% over the next 4 years (or 234 new users), compared with TikTok’s 17% (327 million). Facebook, claim they, is losing popularity and growth will only be 14% (or 391 million users).

It is important to measure growth rates because it determines what trends are actually happening over time and not just a feeling. Statista’s report shows that Instagram is expected to grow much faster than TikTok or Facebook even though the number of users will be lower.

Okay, let’s parse this out a bit. What’s really happening?

The growth rate for TikTok seems to be a big anomaly. 202% is phenomenal growth for an app that doesn’t really do anything but show you videos one after the other. You can talk about how video has become a trend across apps or our short attention spans. But the fact is, TikTok is a fad.

Instagram, meanwhile, has an extensive feature set. It’s implanted into culture in a way that’s hard to deny. Stories, photo galleries, videos, pithy statements — Instagram has it all. Zuckerberg’s response to Elon Musk’s recent cage match challenge (which may have been in jest) was telling. “Send me the location,” he posted.

TikTok has the same effect as an energy beverage that gets you hooked for a little while. Instagram is coffee. TikTok’s algorithm, while not perfect, is certainly impressive. Instagram is a better option, it can be used to build a brand and for videos and photos, plus, its algorithm has lasted longer than TikTok.

You can have fun watching to see whether the predictions are accurate.