Morning Consult: 3/4 of Americans don't pay for social media platforms

Meta Platforms has launched Meta Verified, a subscription service for Facebook and Instagram that gives people additional account protection, customer support, and profile verification badges for a monthly fee.

These services are part of a larger trend of social media platforms charging for access to premium features that most Americans aren’t interested in, according to a new survey from Morning Consult.

The general public pays for social media, but paid content creators are more open

• Three-quarters of U.S. adults have little or no interest in paying for social media, with more than half saying they “definitely would not” pay to use the platforms.
• People who create content online and earn income from it are more willing to pay for social media, with 2/3 of creators willing to pay and nearly half definitely willing to pay.
• Nearly 4 in 5 adults are concerned about privacy on social media, but this group remains largely uninterested in paying for social media, suggesting that additional privacy and security won’t entice many people to pay for a platform.

Those willing to pay for social media services want badges, increased account security

Social media companies have increasingly begun introducing paid features, often targeting users who already spend a lot of time on the platform.

Among subscription services and features, improved account security appeals to the largest percentage of adults, with one in four saying it is the most important feature a social media company could offer. Among those who said they would be willing to pay for social media, three in 10 said improved security and verification badges are most important.

However, the largest share of adults (26%) say none of the features currently offered or promised are worth paying for.