Social media isn’t actually taking over the world, but it certainly feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it? Nearly everybody in the world with Internet access has at least one social media account, and many people have three or more, from Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn.

Social media is an ever-changing field, with apps updating more often than even Apple updates the iPhone. With advances in technology come new social media avenues and new ways to stay connected whether you’re around a computer or not, so it can be tough to keep track. We’ll run down some of the most important social media stats that will change the landscape in 2016 so you can begin planning a strategy that has room to grow.

Social Media Statistics to Keep in Mind When Creating Your Strategy

According to a WeAreSocial.net digital, social and mobile report for 2015:

Active social media accounts – 2.078 billion

That number is increasing by the day, especially as more and more social media apps and tools are developed. Snapchat released an update recently (that is scaring the crap out of kids) that helped recruit a lot of new users given the fun, viral angle to the standard “snapshot” style of social media. Periscope is also rather new and it’s been increasing in popularity, as well. Remember, the 2.078 billion isn’t people with social media accounts, it is active accounts. When was the last time you met somebody who had only one social media account? Most people have more. So with the world population over 7.2 billion, it’s pretty crazy to think three-quarters of the humans on this planet don’t have any social media account.

Internet Users – 3.010 billion

That’s roughly 40 percent of the entire population of the world.

Mobile Users – 3.649 billion

It’s crazy that there are more unique mobile users than there are Internet users, but I guess not every mobile user has a smart phone, right? It is important to know the crazy expanse of the Internet and mobile phones; especially considering how many social media devices are primarily, or only, on cell phones, like Snapchat, Vine or Instagram.

Active mobile social media accounts – 1.685 billion

This isn’t even half of the mobile users in total, and yet the number is still astronomical. Keep in mind as well that this is a statistic for “active” users, meaning they have signed-in within the last several months.

ClickZ projected several different trends as well:

5.4 million more users of social media

Back in January of this year social media will have 5.4 million more uses by 2016. With the calendar year almost over, it’s not going out on a limb to say that may have already happened. More than 180 million Americans use social media already, and the big boost in new accounts is the participation of the older generations. Baby Boomers and older are getting in on the craze, with more than 15 million people age 65+ have at least one social media account.

4.9 million kids under the age of 12 will have social accounts in 2016.

Let’s delve into that age a bit more. ClickZ projects that as many as 4.9 million kids under age 12 will have social media accounts by the start of 2016.

21.1 million kids ages 12-17 will double by next year.

That’s the total of kids age 12-17 with social media accounts and ClickZ reports the number of people in this range with Instagram accounts will double from 2013 to 2016.

32.1 million have Facebook accounts from ages 25-34.

That’s the number of Facebook accounts from people falling in the age range of 25-34, one of the most important demographics in terms of social media usage. Following in order with this age group is Instagram (19.4 million accounts), Twitter (11.3 million), Pinterest (10.2 million) and Tumblr (5.3 million).

0.8 million projected increase in Twitter accounts.

That’s the total projected increase in Twitter accounts from those people falling in the 35-44 age group, going from 8.7 million users to 9.5 million by 2016.

17.1 million people ages 55-64 are active on Facebook.

People falling in the 55-to-64-year-old age range are most active on Facebook, with 17.1 million users. That is projected to rise to 17.8 million by 2016 and represents a major discrepancy compared to Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, which all have fewer than five million users from this age group.

$8.3 billion is spend on social advertising.

That’s the projected amount of money spent on social media advertising by marketers in 2015, according to Business2Community.com. That’s a crazy amount of money, but it is a time-tested formula for generating leads (well, as time-tested as something as new as social media can be). Fifty-four percent of B2B marketers say they have generated leads from social media.

93 percent of people are swayed by social advertising.

The number of shoppers who have been swayed by social media to buy a service or item, mostly because of reviews or word of mouth from friends and followers.

47 percent say Facebook is a top influencer.

In that same vein, 47 percent of Americans claim Facebook is the top influence for their purchasing habits. Eighty-five percent of social media purchase come from Facebook users.

78 percent of companies employ a social expert.

The number of companies who claim to have a team or individual dedicated strictly to social media. That number sat at just 67 percent in 2012.

43 percent of people 65 and older have social accounts.

The number of people at least 65 years old who have social media accounts.

80 percent of Twitter users are active on mobile.

The percentage of people with Twitter accounts who are active on mobile. As we touched on briefly above, mobile use is extremely important in the world of social media and Twitter is one of the most popular on mobile. Whether it’s for checking sports news/scores, keeping up to date on politics or simply following celebrities or comedians, Twitter is a great way for anybody to feel “plugged in.” Which could explain why so many are on mobile, as they want to stay in touch with the outside world at any moment, not only when they’re around their laptops or desktops.

No matter what way you slice it; social media isn’t going anywhere and will only increase in popularity the more time goes on. Every company that deals with people needs to have a social media account just to “keep up with the Joneses.” Throw in marketing, purchasing and advertising on the basic “social” aspect of social media and you have an all-important, hyper-functioning beast that has effectively taken over the world (or at least the United States).

What other social media statistics have you come across that have caught your eye or stuck with you? Let us know in the comments section below.