Puerto Rico, like the rest of the United States, is deeply involved with social media. It is a news source, an opportunity for political action, and a means of connecting that can be particularly important for families divided between states and the Island.
Social media in Puerto Rico
Looking at Statcounter’s data on social media usage in Puerto Rico over the past year, we see that Facebook use dwarfs the other platforms. Facebook is more popular among older Puerto Ricans, but it is also the most popular overall, in use by all ages.
Pinterest and Instagram come next, sharing second place. These two are the most visual platforms.
Twitter, now known as X, is in third place, with a surge close to the election. Tumbler and Reddit are at the bottom, and surprisingly YouTube is also down with the less popular duo.
StatCounter did not include TikTok, but Similarweb places it just behind Instagram. Statista ranks the platforms differently; these differences among these generally reliable sources suggests that this data is not being collected diligently. However, estimates suggest that about 70% of Island residents use social media.
Popular hashtags include #Boricua, #puertorico #pr and #isladelencanto. These hashtags tend to mark posts on travel, natural beauty, local events, cuisine, and the arts.
The other topic that is very popular in Puerto Rican social media is politics. Hashtags are not uniform or even common in these posts. Even in 2019, when #RickyRenuncia and #RickySeQueda were widely seen as part of the protests against Governor Rossello, researchers found that only about half were from accounts in Puerto Rico.
Social media about Puerto Rico
With more people of Puerto Rican heritage living in states than on the Island, and the political status of Puerto Rico increasingly capturing the attention of Americans in general, it is not just social media use in Puerto Rico that affects the discussion. People from across the nation and world are talking about Puerto Rico on multiple platforms. However, there are differences in focus.
Facebook tends to show travel, real estate, and local news. There are some political organizations and news sources about Puerto Rico on Facebook (including the Report) but overall the majority of posts are on lifestyle themes.
Instagram shows a mix of landscape and nature shots with politics. Searches for states show great variation from one state to another; some states show a preponderance of ads, some focus on sports, some show off swimsuits or skylines. Puerto Rico is generally bilingual and diverse.
X tends toward the political. This platform is also frequently bilingual.
Bluesky shows a mix of personal posts and political ones.
YouTube also is generally political.
Social media continue to be an important part of public discourse for Puerto Rico and for the U.S. as a whole.
