A new report from Anderson Analytics has found that US social networkers utilise sites such as Facebook and Twitter in different ways depending on their age.
Generation Z (13-to-14-year-old) social network users were more likely to use MySpace than Facebook. Only 9% of them used Twitter and none used LinkedIn, Anderson found.
Generation Y was a different story, the research showed. Three-quarters of 15-to-29-year-olds used MySpace, 65% used Facebook, 14% used Twitter and 9% used LinkedIn.
Generation X, 30-to-44-year-olds, and baby boomers, 44-to-65-year-olds, connected on LinkedIn more than any demographic.
Nine in 10 older social network users, which Anderson Analytics called the WWII generation, used Facebook, and 17% tweeted.
Last week, a comScore study revealed that 29.4 million people accessed at least one social networking site in the UK in May, averaging 4.6 hours per visitor during the month (see Almost 30m people in the UK accessed social networks in May).
Penetration was highest amongst 25-34 year old internet users, 89% of whom visited the category during the month, followed by 15-24 year olds (86%).
Elsewhere, eMarketer forecast that US marketers will increase their social network ad spending 13.2% to $1.3 billion in 2010 (see US social network ad spending to increase).
