Where do you need to show up for the right candidate to see you?
The answer has shifted over the past year. Instagram has overtaken Facebook as Sweden's biggest social platform, TikTok is growing and 62% of Swedes now use AI services, up from 41% last year. We went through the Swedish Internet Foundation's report Swedes and the Internet 2026 and pulled out what matters if you work in HR, Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding. The figures cover people aged 16-65 unless stated otherwise.
Quick answer:
Instagram is Sweden's biggest social platform among people of working age in 2026. 67% use it every week, ahead of Facebook (65%) and YouTube (55%). Which channel reaches your candidates depends on their age. Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube reach 16-25s. Facebook and Instagram reach 36-65s. LinkedIn mainly reaches white-collar workers.
Want a deep dive into all the trends and channel insights? Download our e-book Where are your candidates? The ultimate channel guide 2026/2027. Download the e-book.
Which social media do Swedes use most in 2026?
Instagram is used by 67% of working-age Swedes every week. Facebook follows on 65% and YouTube on 55%. In total, 95% use social media every week and 89% every day.
How we read the numbers: Instagram has overtaken Facebook for the first time and is now the platform Swedes use most each week. Otherwise the usage is stable compared to last year. Snapchat and TikTok edge up, the rest stand still.
How have the channels changed over five years?
Between 2022 and 2026, Facebook's daily use fell from 62% to 50%, while TikTok's weekly use grew from 13% to 20%. Instagram holds steady at 57% daily. X has lost the most.
- Facebook: 62% used it every day in 2022, 50% in 2026.
- Instagram: 57% every day. The only major channel that holds its level across every measurement.
- TikTok: the steadiest growth. The increase comes from 16-35s, while use among 36-45s has gone down.
- X: weekly use has gone from 15% (2023) to 10% (2026).
Which channel reaches which age group?
Age decides more than anything else. Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube dominate among 16-25s. From 26, Instagram and Facebook take over, and LinkedIn is biggest from 36.
A few differences that are easy to miss:
- Facebook is a broad channel from age 26. Among 46-55s, 63% use it every day. Among 16-25s, it's 21%.
- TikTok drops sharply already in the 26-35 group: 20% use it every week, against 61% among 16-25s.
- Instagram grew most among 56-65s, from 48% to 57% weekly.
- Snapchat has grown among 36-55s (from 18% to 23% weekly) but is shrinking among the youngest.
How we read the numbers: No single channel reaches every age equally well. To reach young people you need to be on Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. To reach experienced candidates, Facebook is still your biggest tool. For more, see our post on how to attract Gen Z.
Do women and men choose different channels?
Yes. Women use Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok and Snapchat more than men. Men use YouTube, Reddit and X more. LinkedIn is the only major channel with an even gender split: 28% of women and 27% of men.
How we read the numbers: Men lean towards text-based platforms like Reddit and X, women towards visual ones like Instagram and Pinterest. That means a single channel rarely gives you an even gender split among applicants. Mix channels and adapt the content to reach a wider group.
Where is the next generation of candidates?
94% of 8-19-year-olds use social media, 83% every day. Among upper-secondary students, Snapchat is biggest (92%), followed by YouTube (89%), Instagram (87%) and TikTok (81%). Facebook sits at 43%.
- Top 5 for ages 8-19: YouTube 84%, Snapchat 62%, Roblox 52%, TikTok 50% and Instagram 49%.
- Roblox has overtaken both TikTok and Instagram for users aged 8-19, but doesn't make the top 5 among upper-secondary students.
- LinkedIn is losing ground among the youngest working-age group. Weekly use among 16-25s has fallen from 11% to 7%.
How we read the numbers: Your candidates five years from now grew up on video, and for many of them the gaming worlds are as social as the feeds. The line between watching, playing and hanging out is getting more and more blurry. It will be interesting to see how platforms like Roblox change the picture, and how employers adapt to meet tomorrow's candidates where they are.
Is LinkedIn the right channel for reaching candidates?
LinkedIn is the right channel for white-collar workers, but it reaches few outside that group. 59% of white-collar employees have used LinkedIn in the past year, against 16% of blue-collar workers. Among all employed people, 42% have used it, 20% every week and 9% every day.
- Sector: 46% in the private sector have used LinkedIn in the past year, against 35% in the public sector.
- Age: biggest among 36-55s (20-21% weekly).
- What frequent users like: networking, job contacts, job ads, a pleasant tone and fewer scam ads.
- What they dislike: boastful and self-promoting posts, sob stories and posts that have nothing to do with work.
How we read the numbers: If you hire warehouse staff, drivers or other blue-collar roles, LinkedIn won't be enough. And if you are there, concrete posts about the job and the workplace work better than self-promotion.
What about TikTok, Reddit, X, Pinterest and WhatsApp?
The smaller channels are narrow but clear. Each has a core group that is easy to miss in a broad plan.
- TikTok: 61% of 16-25s use it every week and 53% every day. 4 in 5 women born in the 2000s use it.
- Reddit: biggest among 26-35s (17%). Fastest growth among 36-45s, from 5% to 11%. Used by 23% of men but 9% of women.
- X: still losing users. More than 3 times as many men as women use it.
- Pinterest: 29% of women use it, against 6% of men.
- Threads: small, but spread across all ages above 26, and you can advertise there through Meta's ad tools. That makes it easy to test. Bluesky is smaller and doesn't offer the same reach.
- WhatsApp and Signal: 51% use WhatsApp (36% in 2022) and 8% use Signal (5% the year before). They are not ad channels, but they show conversation moving into closed, private spaces.
How does AI change the way candidates find you as an employer?
62% of Swedes have used AI services, up from 41% last year. 71% have read Google's AI overviews and 14% google less than a year ago. Of those, 7 in 10 use AI instead. Candidates increasingly meet your employer brand inside an AI answer.
- Tools: ChatGPT 52% (34% last year), Copilot 18% (10%) and Gemini 13% (2%).
- Generation: 89% of those born in the 2000s and 54% of those born in the 1960s have used AI services.
- Do they double-check the answers? 76% of AI users do. Among 16-19s, 36% don't check at all.
A candidate who asks AI about you as an employer gets an answer built from what exists online: the career site, the job ads, reviews and what others write. If the career site promises flexibility and the reviews say something else, the reviews often weigh heaviest. Old job ads, outdated pages and sparse information also count, because what's missing gets replaced by what's there.
How we read the numbers: Your employer brand is increasingly built by the whole picture, not by single campaigns. The career site, the ads and the reviews need to say the same thing, and what you say needs to match reality. Your employees' own stories are a good way to add fresh perspectives, which we cover in our post on Employee Generated Content.
How do Swedes use AI at work?
56% of working people use AI at work, twice as many as last year (28%). Among white-collar employees the figure is 71%, among blue-collar workers 33%. 6 in 10 say they are allowed to use AI services, but just over 3 in 10 don't know whether they are.
Candidates and employees expect clear guidelines, and unclear ones cost both efficiency and credibility. Being able to answer "how do you work with AI?" is becoming part of the employer offer.
What do the numbers mean for your channel mix?
Start with your candidates' age and occupation and lay the channels on top. If you start from "everyone", you reach few. Four questions to bring with you:
- How old are the people you want to reach? Under 26: Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. 26-35: Instagram and Facebook. Over 35: Facebook and Instagram.
- Are they white-collar? Then add LinkedIn. If they are blue-collar you need more channels, since only 16% of them have used LinkedIn in the past year.
- Does your content work as short video? Most channels that grow or hold their level are visual.
- What does AI say about you? Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot about you as an employer. Your candidates see that answer too.
The numbers show where people are. How you reach them, with which message and what budget, decides the result. A strong Employer Brand doesn't help if nobody sees it, which we wrote more about in why a strong employer brand isn't enough.
How can weselect help you reach the right candidates in the right channel?
Knowing where candidates are is the first step. Since 2011 we have helped companies do something about it, and we call the method Employer Marketing. In practice, it looks like this:
- Choosing channels based on your target group: We work out which channels reach the exact role, age and occupation you want to hire, using numbers like these as the base.
- Creating content for the formats: From short vertical videos to ads. We help with format, production and creative direction, so the content fits the channel where it will run.
- Reaching the right people: Good content makes no difference if the wrong people see it. With targeted paid social advertising, we make sure it lands in front of the candidates you want.
- Measuring what matters: We tie campaigns to applications, application quality and cost per application, not just reach.
Want to know where your recruitment would have the most impact? Book a meeting with weselect and we'll go through your goals and where you stand today.
FAQ
What is Sweden's biggest social media platform in 2026?
Instagram. 67% of working-age Swedes (16-65) use it every week, compared with 65% for Facebook and 55% for YouTube. 2026 is the first year Instagram overtakes Facebook.
Which social channel best reaches young adults aged 16-25?
Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. 76% of 16-25s use Snapchat every week, 74% use Instagram and 74% use YouTube. TikTok is used by 61% every week. Facebook reaches only 41% of that age group.
Is Facebook still useful for recruitment?
Yes, for candidates aged 26 and up. 75% of 46-55s and 68% of 36-45s use Facebook every week. Among 16-25s it's 41%. Daily use among working-age Swedes has fallen from 62% (2022) to 50% (2026).
How many Swedes use LinkedIn?
16% of working-age Swedes use LinkedIn every week and 7% every day. Among employed people aged 18+, 42% have used it in the past year: 59% of white-collar employees but 16% of blue-collar workers.
How many Swedes use AI services in 2026?
62% of Swedes have used AI services, up from 41% last year. ChatGPT is used by 52%, Copilot by 18% and Gemini by 13%. 56% of working people use AI at work.
Do Swedes google less than before?
14% google less than a year ago. Of those, 7 in 10 use AI instead. 71% have read Google's AI overviews, and 24% read them most of the time or always.
How can weselect help us reach the right candidates in the right channel?
weselect is an Employer Marketing agency that has worked with recruitment and marketing since 2011. We help you choose channels based on your target group, create content for the formats, reach the right people with targeted paid social advertising and measure the result in applications and cost per application.
Where do these numbers come from?
The numbers come from the Swedish Internet Foundation's report Swedes and the Internet 2026. Novus collected the responses in January 2026. The social media figures are based on 2,590 interviews with people aged 16-65, about 500 per age group. The AI section covers the whole population aged 8+ unless otherwise stated.
Download the full channel guide. Every chart, each channel on its own and our reading of the numbers for HR, TA and Employer Branding professionals.
Download the e-book for free
