19% of US internet users now keeping each other updated online
Some 19% of US internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others, according to new research.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that three groups of internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the internet via mobile devices, and younger internet users – those under age 44.
Fully 39% of internet users with four or more internet-connected devices (such as a laptop, cell phone, game console, or Kindle) use Twitter, compared to 28% of internet users with three devices, 19% of internet users with two devices, and 10% of internet users with one device.
The median age of a Twitter user is 31, which has remained stable over the past year. The median age for MySpace is now 26, down from 27 in May 2008, and the median age for LinkedIn is now 39, down from 40. The median age for Facebook, meanwhile, is now 33, up from 26 in May 2008.
Recent research from The Participatory Marketing Network revealed that only nine percent of US consumers aged 18-24 said social networks, while 26% said email and 26% said texting.
The study looked at time spent and preference for visiting social networks, reading/writing email, texting, talking on the phone, watching TV, reading magazines and surfing the web (non social media sites).