More Than Two-Thirds of Online U.S. Adults Use Social Networks
Nearly three-fourths of online U.S. adults are using a social network service, Pew Research Center’s Internet Project reports in its latest survey on social media usage and adoption. And it’s highly likely they’re using Facebook.
The study shows that 73 percent of online adults in the country have at least one social networking account. While Facebook still dominates this arena, many users have diversified to other social media platforms, with 42 percent of online adults using multiple social networks. And Instagram users are almost as eager as Facebook users to visit their social media accounts daily.
The Distribution
Of the five social media sites covered in the report – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn – about 36 percent of online U.S. adults say that they use only one social network, whereas 42 percent use multiple social networking sites. The remaining 22 percent didn’t use any of those platforms in the survey.
About 84 percent of Internet users in the coutrny say that Facebook is their only social network of choice. And of the Internet users with only one social network – and don’t use Facebook, 8 percent use LinkedIn, 4 percent use Pinterest, and 2 percent each use Twitter or Instagram.
As said earlier, Facebook is the most-used social networking platform, so most users of the other social networks in the survey also have Facebook accounts. About 93 percent of Instagram users are on Facebook, 83 percent of LinkedIn users use Facebook, and about 25 percent of Facebook users are also on the other social networking sites.
Pew’s study shows a high level of overlap between Twitter and Instagram users, as 53 percent of Twitter users are on Instagram and 53 percent of Instagram users are on Twitter. For non-Facebook sites, it’s the highest rate of convergence measured between different user groups.
Key Findings
Here are key findings in the survey (based on the social networks included in the study):
1. 71 percent of online U.S. adults are on Facebook, as the social media usage of seniors has grown over the past year.
2. 45 percent of Internet users aged 65 or higher uses Facebook, 35 percent higher than before the 2012 year-end.
3. Women are more likely to use Facebook.
4. 63 percent of Facebook users say they check in on their account daily, with 40 percent of them visiting at least twice per day. It’s the most engaged and highest overall percentage of users. But 14 percent of Facebook users say that they check in on their account less than once a week.
1. 18 percent of online U.S. adults are on Twitter, 2 percent higher than the same period in 2012.
2. Adoption levels are higher among African-Americans and young adults than other user demographics.
3. 46 percent of Twitter users say they check in on their account daily, with 29 percent of them visiting multiple times per day. But 32 percent of Twitter users say that they check in on their account less than once a week.
1. 17 percent of online adults are on Instagram, 4 percent higher than the same period in 2012.
2. Instagram adoption rate by Internet users aged 18 to 29 has grown from 28 percent to 37 percent between late 2012 and late 2013.
3. Adoption by African-American Internet users increased by one percent during the same period.
4. 57 percent of Instagram users use its mobile app daily, with 35 percent opening it multiple times daily.
1. 21 percent of online U.S. adults are on Pinterest, 15 percent higher than in late 2012.
2. 33 percent of online women are Pinterest users, whereas only 8 percent of online men use Pinterest.
3. Pinterest users skew toward wealthy people. The highest income bracket is more likely than the lowest income bracket to use it. And the same trend applies for those online users with a college degree or higher compared to those who only finished high school.
4. Pinterest users have a proclivity for intermittent usage patterns, as only 23 percent of them check in on their accounts daily. But about half of Pinterest users say they use the site less than once a week.
1. 22 percent of online U.S. adults are on LinkedIn. But as a platform built for social networking among professionals, its user demographic is considerably less than Facebook and distinct from the other sites in the study.
2. People with a college degree or higher are more likely to be on LinkedIn. Also, households with annual incomes of at least $75,000 are more likely to be LinkedIn users.
3. LinkedIn is the only social networking site in which the bracket for 50 to 64 year olds trumps the bracket of 18 to 29 year olds when it comes to usage.
4. LinkedIn users have a proclivity for intermittent usage patterns, as only 13 percent of them check in on their accounts daily. But about half of LinkedIn users say they use the site less than once a week.
The Survey
The survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International asked 1,801 adults of legal age from August 7 to September 16, 2013. It interviewed respondents using English and Spanish via landline and cellphone. But only 1,445 respondents were Internet users.
