---
title: "Looking for news on Twitter’s IPO? Many young adults may find it … on Twitter"
description: "Close to half of those who consume news on Twitter are young people, ages 18 to 29."
date: "2013-11-07"
authors:
  - name: "George Gao"
    job_title: "Former "
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/george-gao/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/11/07/looking-for-news-on-twitters-ipo-many-young-adults-may-find-it-on-twitter/"
categories:
  - "Twitter (X)"
---

# Looking for news on Twitter’s IPO? Many young adults may find it … on Twitter

Twitter [goes public](http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/public-twitters-ipo-work-20791341) today as shares in the company start trading on the New York Stock Exchange. And if you are like 8% of U.S. adults who use Twitter to track news, you might be among those following developments about the IPO on Twitter.

[![DN_Twitter_Users](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2013/11/DN_Twitter_Users.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2013/11/04/twitter-news-consumers-young-mobile-and-educated/)

Twitter has over 230 million monthly active users, with 77% of its accounts outside the U.S. About three-quarters of Twitter users access the site through mobile devices. All in all, 500 million Tweets are being sent each day, [according to the company’s website](https://about.twitter.com/company).

A [Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2013/11/04/twitter-news-consumers-young-mobile-and-educated/) conducted Aug. 21 – Sept. 2 found that 16% of U.S. adults use Twitter and roughly half of that number consume news there.

Close to half of those Twitter news consumers (45%) are young people, ages 18 to 29, compared with 34% of Facebook news consumers in the same age group.

Young people also stand out as a group who have increasingly turned to online sources for news. For the overall public, those who cite the internet as [their main news source](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2013/08/08/amid-criticism-support-for-medias-watchdog-role-stands-out/#internet) climbed from 13% in 2001 to 50% today — more than radio (23%) and newspaper (28%) but less than television (69%). But for young people, 71% say the internet *is* their main source of news, in contrast with 18% of those 65 and older.