Top 10 Social Media Platforms Ranked for Carbon Footprint

Posted on by Marc Roseblade

Social media is fun and useful, but it also has a carbon footprint. Every time you use social media, you emit CO2 from the energy and devices you use.

How can you reduce your CO2 emissions from social media? One way is to pick the most eco-friendly social media platform based on its carbon intensity.

Carbon intensity is how much CO2 you emit for each minute of using a social media platform. The lower the carbon intensity, the more eco-friendly the platform.

Here are the 10 most popular social media platforms ranked by their carbon intensity:

  1. YouTube – 0.46 grams of CO2 per minute
  2. WhatsApp – 0.5 grams of CO2 per minute
  3. LinkedIn – 0.52 grams of CO2 per minute
  4. Snapchat – 0.65 grams of CO2 per minute
  5. Twitter – 0.72 grams of CO2 per minute
  6. Facebook – 0.77 grams of CO2 per minute
  7. Instagram – 0.87 grams of CO2 per minute
  8. Pinterest – 1.3 grams of CO2 per minute
  9. Reddit – 2.45 grams of CO2 per minute
  10. TikTok – 2.63 grams of CO2 per minute

YouTube is the eco-friendly social media platform per minute, while TikTok is the most carbon-intensive.

But carbon intensity is not the only factor.

You also need to consider how much time you spend on them, how much data they use, and how they get their energy.

Some platforms may use more renewable energy than others, which can lower their emissions. For example, Facebook uses 100% renewable energy, while TikTok aims to be net-zero by 2030.

To pick the eco-friendly social media platform, you need to look at its carbon intensity, emissions, data consumption, and energy mix.

To lower your CO2 emissions from social media even more, you can also limit your online time, use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data, and choose lower video quality.

By picking the eco-friendly social media platform and using it wisely, you can enjoy social media without hurting the planet too much. 🌎

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