Crazy thing, we were peeking under the hood of the website the other day and were surprised to find that we’ve had more referrals from Facebook over the past couple of months than from Instagram.

We weren’t even sure people still used Facebook. Except, you know, your parents, Facebook usage being a clear indicator of someone of a certain age—like having a Hotmail address.

But when we went over to our Facebook “Insights” page, we found something even stranger: our audience there isn’t dominated by Boomers at all.

Here’s how it breaks down:

• 45–54: 26% (our largest group)

• 35–44: 24.6%

• 65+: 22.6%

• 55–64: 19.3%

• 25–34: 7.3%

• 18–24: 0.2%

In other words: Millennials and Gen X are the ones clicking our links on Facebook—not the grandparents.

Not really sure what’s going on here. But if you suffer from FOMO, you may want to dust off your old password and log back into Facebook. Turns out it’s not just political rants and Marketplace recliners over there.

And when you zoom out, the picture gets even clearer: Facebook is still enormous. According to DemandSage, it has around 3.07 billion monthly active users, compared to Instagram’s widely accepted 2 billion. Even more surprising, Facebook still has over 2.1 billion daily users, while Instagram’s last confirmed daily number is about 500 million. Pew Research says that in the U.S., about 71% of adults use Facebook; only 50% use Instagram.

So what does this mean for us?

We might have a social-media platform bias. Instagram feels like the natural home for artists — it’s visual, fast, stylish. It feels like everyone we talk to is over there because, well, they are. But maybe that’s the problem. Instagram might be functioning like a gallery stroll: a lively crowd, lots of artists talking to other artists, lots of energy and conversation.

Meanwhile, Facebook—the place we’ve all quietly abandoned—might be where the collectors, the readers, and the people actually clicking our articles are still hanging out.

Early in 15 Bytes’ history we ran a series called “Hints ‘n’ Tips.” For several years, it was John Hughes’ advice on plein-air painting, but it began as a series of articles on advice for artists and art lovers alike: framing, business cards, tax advice, copyright law, works on paper, starting a collection, etc.

In 2026 we’re going to lean into that part of our past by looking at market trends in social media, interior decor, framing alternatives, marketing strategies and more.

15 Bytes

UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.