---
title: "Email vs. Social Networks"
description: "Young adults are just as likely to check their email as their Facebook account on a typical day; older adults still favor email."
date: "2010-09-13"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2010/09/13/email-vs-social-networks/"
categories:
  - "Email"
  - "Facebook"
---

# Email vs. Social Networks

Email remains the most popular activity for older internet users, but among young online adults, social networking sites are just as much a part of the daily routine as email. Websites like Facebook are becoming increasingly popular among older internet users; the number of online adults ages 50 and older on social networking sites nearly doubled in the past year.But on a typical day, while a majority of online adults ages 50-64 (60%) and ages 65 and older (55%) send and receive email, relatively few check in with their friends and family via social networking sites (20% and 13%). Among online adults ages 18-29, however, there is little difference between the two online activities. Fully 60% of young adults visit a social networking site daily, and relatively the same number (62%) send and receive email daily. It should not be too surprising that young adults are more likely to visit a social networking site than are older adults, considering they are still much more likely to be users. But nearly all online adults, young and old, use email at least occasionally. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/1711/older-adults-social-networking-facebook-twitter)