The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has released its survey findings to show the effect of Facebook on the lives of online American adults.
Pew asked the respondents in the Omnibus survey how much time they spend on Facebook and its importance in their lives.
Most users said the social network is more important now than it was a year ago, and about half of users said they have the same level of engagement over the past year.
But Pew’s Internet survey found a notable drop in value and in usage from the previous year.
More than half (59 percent) of Facebook users said the site is just as important to them as it was the previous year, and 53 percent of current users said the time they spend on the social network is nearly the same as it was a year ago.
Facebook is now less important than it was a year ago for 28 percent of the users, and the time they spend on the social network is now shorter over the past year for 34 percent of current users.
More than a fifth (12 percent) of users said Facebook is more important to them now than it was a year ago, and 13 percent of current users said the time they spend on Facebook increased over the past year.
Female vs. Male
Another notable statistic from Pew’s Internet study shows that the likelihood of women to admit an increase in value and time spent on Facebook is greater than men do.
About 16 percent of female users, as opposed to 7 percent of men, said that Facebook is now more important to them than it was a year ago.
Another 16 percent of female users, as opposed to 9 percent of men, said that they spend more time on Facebook than they did over the previous year.
Age Groups
Pew’s Internet study found that about 42 percent of Facebook users aged 18-29 admit they dropped the time they spend on Facebook over the past year.
And 34 percent of Facebook users aged 30-49 also experienced the drop in usage.
Both figures are higher than those of Facebook users aged 50 and above, of which 23 percent reported a decline in usage during the past year.
Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) conducted the survey with the help of Princeton Data Source, which asked a national sample of 1,006 U.S. adults from December 13 to 16 last year.
