A study done recently by Experian/Simmons found that 98 per cent of people aged 18-24 years old use social media on a monthly basis and 82 per cent of people aged 55-64 years old also use it. Facebook continues to dominate as the place most Americans go to on a regular basis, with 58 per cent of U.S. online adults logging in monthly.
Clearly, more and more adult Americans use technology to connect with each other on a regular basis, as the graph below illustrates. In this study, using “social media” is defined as visiting social or professional networking sites, visiting photo sharing and video sharing sites, visiting blogs, message boards and forums and “social tagging” (sharing photos, posting comments, sharing links).
The fastest growing group of Americans using social media are those in the 65-plus, which grew “a relative 49 percent in the past two years alone. Today, nearly 3-in-4 online seniors use social media in a typical month as do 82% of those ages 55 to 64.”
The Trust Factor of Facebook is Undeniable, Compared to Other Social Networks
I’ve personally witnessed this growth in the 55-64 year old group of users because many of my friends and some of my Facebook fans are using Facebook as their first line of entry into social networking. Facebook has a huge advantage over any other social network simply because people have usually met In Real Life at least once and so the trust factor has already been established. These people, who have actually met in person, visit Facebook almost daily. What are they doing? Here’s the breakdown of activities, according to PEW Internet and Life Project study:
On an average day:
- 15% of Facebook users update their own status.
- 22% comment on another’s post or status.
- 20% comment on another user’s photos.
- 26% “Like” another user’s content.
- 10% send another user a private message
Most Active Users of Facebook are Women
Who Posts Several Times a Day? 18-22 year old people
Frequency of Commenting on Facebook Posts By Age
It’s important to note that, though they don’t update their own status daily, most people do comment on other people’s status frequently:
The study done by PEW is fascinating and very in-depth data about Facebook users (at least the ones who participated in this study). It’s worth reading the whole three-part study. Here’s one more nugget of information I found fascinating:
“To summarize, then, after we control for demographic characteristics, we do not find that use of any SNS platform is associated with having a larger or smaller general overall social network. However, we do find that Facebook users are more likely to have a larger number of close social ties. Facebook use seems to support intimacy, rather than undermine it.” – PEW Internet and American Life Project
