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Tweeting More Ubiquitous Than Other Electronic Socializing
by Jack Loechner, Wednesday, October 7, 2009 8:15 AM
According to a survey conducted by Crowd Science, with Twitter being accessed from mobile devices to a greater extent than other social media, Twitter users also use social media more in such
locations as cars, restaurants and restrooms. 11% of Twitter users admitted to accessing social media while driving during the preceding 30 days, compared with just 5% of other social media users. And
29% of Twitter users said they had accessed social media from cars at some point in the past, compared with 13% of non-users. John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science, notes that "Twitter is more
of a mobile media phenomenon than other social networks, so these results, while a little disturbing, are... not so surprising... the bottom line is that either type of activity takes a
driver's attention away from the road." The survey found that only 27% of Twitter users tweet daily, while 46% check updates daily. In addition, 24% of Twitters users have never
tweeted, or have ceased doing so. According to the survey, 40% of Twitter users access the service via mobile at least sometimes, compared with 32% for Facebook users, and 8% use mobile all
the time vs. 3% for Facebook. In addition to the greater usage while driving, the survey also found that over the past 30 days,
- Twice as many Twitter users as non-Twitter
social media users (8% to 4%) had accessed any social media from a theater during a movie or live performance.
- 17% of Twitter users vs. 12% of non-Twitter social media users
had accessed social media from a washroom or toilet
- Nearly three times as many Twitter users as other social media users have accessed social media from restaurants (31% vs.
12%).
Considering the attitudes of Twitter users, says the report, a significant number of social media users use the applications because friends and contacts do (17%), or because
stopping or reducing its use would be damaging to their social status (15%.). 32% of Twitter users feel they spend too much time using social media, 22% say they've written things
on social media that they've later regretted, and 16% report that they often neglect important activities to spend time on social media. Yet 25% of Twitter users say social media is their favorite
leisure activity, compared with 14% of non-Twitter social media users. Additional survey results include:
- 41% of Twitter users prefer to contact friends via social media
rather than telephone, compared with 25% of non-Twitter social media users,
- 11%, vs. only 6% of those not using Twitter, actually prefer social media over face-to-face
contacts
- 14% of Twitter users said they have revealed things about themselves in social media that they wouldn't under any other circumstances
- 8% admitted to
"frequently stretching" the truth about themselves online
Twitter users tend to be older than non-Twitter social media users (54% over 30 years old, vs. 42%),
- They are twice as likely to be self-employed or entrepreneurs (18% vs. 9%)
- 24% vs. 15% "buy gadgets/devices when they first come out,"
- 48% vs. 30%
have created a website
- 37% currently maintain a blog, twice as many as non-Twitter social media users
The Crowd Science study was conducted across more than 600,000
visitors to multiple websites between August 5-13, 2009, targeting social media users age 12 and up. For
more information from Crowd Science, please visit here.