Global Publics Embrace Social Networking
Although still a relatively young technology, social networking is already a global phenomenon. A 22-nation survey finds that in regions around the world, people who use the internet are using it for social networking. Cell phone ownership and computer usage are also increasingly popular across the globe.
Who Tweets?
When asked specifically if they are on Twitter, rather than a generic status-updating site, 8% of online adults say they use the popular social media tool. Tweeting is especially popular among young adults, minorities and those who live in cities.
Just Checking In: 4% Share Location with Mobile Device
Among online adults, 4% use a service such as Foursquare or Gowalla that allows them to share their location with friends and to find others who are nearby.
Older Adults and Social Media
The number of older adults on Facebook and other social networking sites has roughly doubled in the past year. About half of internet users ages 50-64 and one-in-four users ages 65 and older now log onto social networks.
Millennials’ Likely Lifelong Online Sharing Habit
Technology experts generally believe that today’s tech-savvy young people — the ‘digital natives’ who are known for enthusiastically embracing social networking and other online tools — will retain their willingness to share personal information online even as they get older and take on more responsibilities.
The Future of Online Socializing
The social benefits of internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade, according to experts. Email, social networks, and other online tools offer low friction opportunities to create, enhance, and rediscover social ties that make a difference in people’s lives and lower traditional communications constraints of cost, geography, and time.
Managing Your Online Profile
Reputation management has become a defining feature of online life, especially among younger Americans. Search engines and social media sites play a central role in building one’s reputation. Many have begun changing privacy settings on profiles, customizing who can see what and deleting unwanted information online.
Why are there fewer bloggers these days?
Senior research staff answer questions from readers relating to all the areas covered by our seven projects, ranging from polling techniques and findings, to media, technology, religious, demographic and global attitudes trends.
Data: Teen and Young Adult Internet Use
A new Pew Internet Project report reveals that 93% of teens ages 12‐17 go online, as do 93% of young adults ages 18‐29. Three quarters (74%) of all adults ages 18 and older go online. Over the past ten years, teens and young adults have been consistently the two groups most likely to go online, even as the internet population has grown and even with documented larger increases in certain age cohorts (e.g. adults 65 and older).
Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults
While the overall internet population expanded continuously over the past decade, Millennials continue to be the most likely age group to go online (93% now use the internet). However, their use of blogs, Twitter and social networking sites has changed in recent years.
