Tumblr and Pinterest now fastest

Image: Luke Leonard, Mashable

Earlier this year, Instagram was leading the pack as the fastest-growing social platform. Now, it's Tumblr and Pinterest, which have edged out the picture-sharing app for greatest increase in active users.

Tumblr's active users grew by 120% in the last six months, according to new stats released by the Global Web Index first spotted by TechCrunch on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Facebook's active users grew by just 2%.

Pinterest comes in behind Tumblr with a 111% growth in active users, who are users that say they've actually used the site with some regularity. Earlier this year when GWI released numbers, Instagram was on top but has dropped to third place. Of the top eight, in fact, Facebook is in last place, behind LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.

Still, these numbers only refer to growth. While it's growing fast, Tumblr still comes in at eighth place for active users overall. Facebook maintains a considerable lead when it comes to popularity, but the social network seems like it could be reaching its peak concentration for users. Tumblr's audience also skews young, while Facebook's - more than any other social platform - skews old, according to the data.

For mobile apps, Snapchat saw the most growth, with a 56% uptick in six months. Facebook Messenger came in second, though this isn't too surprising because Facebook essentially forced many of its users to download the companion app. Instagram came in third for app usage, followed by Line, Pinterest, Kakao Talk and Vine.

The GWI report's author notes that Facebook has some 'major challenges' to face as it moves forward. Many people are growing bored with the platform, the report notes, and 50% of U.S. and UK members are using it far less frequently than they used to. For now, Facebook's king status seems safe, but the market of social media is ever-saturating.

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