65% of Adult Internet Users Use Social Media [Study]
Posted by Obaidul Haque on August 27, 2011 under Research | 
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"Though young adults have the highest social media usage percentage, there’s been a rapid growth in the number of older age group internet users. "
According to recently conducted study by Pew Internet (a notable internet research company), two-thirds of all internet users (65%) use social media websites. Since 2008 (when social networking sites usage was recorded to be just 29%), the number of adults who spend time on sites like Facebook, MySpace and Linked has more than doubled.
As compared to the last year data, young adult social media sites usage has not witnessed any significant change. However, what’s actually noticeable is that the number of boomer-age segment (50-64) using social networking websites has considerably increased (from around 20% to 60% on a typical day).
Overall User Experience
In the survey were also included questions to find out about the experience of internet users spending time on popular social networking websites. Most of the respondents indicated that they had a ‘good’ experience while using social media websites. Some of the most common words which respondents used to describe their overall experience include fun, great, convenient, interesting etc.
Who Uses Social Networking Websites?
The Pew Internet survey noted that women and young adults are among the top users of social media sites. Women falling in the age group 18-29 head the list of social networking site users. No substantial differences were noted in social media usage on the ground of ethnicity, income range, educational qualification and living environment (urban, suburban, rural).
Women are More Likely to Use Social Media
Women tend to use social networking sites more frequently than men. As of May 2011, seven out of every ten internet women users use social media. On the other hand, only six out of every ten online men spend time on social media websites. Women (48%) are also found to be more active users of social media than men (38%) on a typical day.
% of Internet Users in Each Group Using Social Media
Increased Usage among Older Users
Young adults have been the top users of social media websites. Between the year 2005 and 2006, social media usage among young adults shot up from merely 9% to 49%. Though the number of young adults using social networking sites has not witnessed any significant change over the last year, the usage has increased among older users. As of May 2011, seven in every ten 30-49 year olds, half of 50-64 year olds and a third of those aged 65 or more use social media sites.
Though young adults have the highest social media usage percentage, there’s been a rapid growth in the number of older age group internet users. Social networking sites usage among users of 65 years or more has gone up by a whooping 150% between 2009 and 2011. The number of social media users in the age group 50-64 has gone up to 51% during the same period.
