A new survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project shows that 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind. Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in
the number of users, but 42% of online adults now use multiple social networking sites. And, says the report, Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily
basis.
As in previous Pew Research surveys of social networking usage, Facebook remains the dominant player in the social networking space. 71% of online adults are now Facebook users, a slight
increase from the 67% of online adults who used Facebook as of late 2012.
Adults on Social
Media Sites |
Social site | % Using 2012 | % Using
2013 |
Facebook | 67% | 71% |
LinkedIn | 20 | 22 |
Pinterest | 20 | 22 |
Twitter | 16 | 18 |
Instagram | 13 | 17 |
Source: PewResearch, December 2013 |
Overall, 42% of online adults use two or
more of these social networks, while 36% use only one. Among those who only use one major social networking platform, 84% say that Facebook is the single site that they frequent. Among those who use
just one social networking site, 8% use LinkedIn, 4% use Pinterest, and 2% each say that Instagram or Twitter is their sole social networking site.
63% of Facebook users report going on the
site at least daily (with 40% logging on multiple times per day), giving it not only the highest overall percentage of users, but also the most engaged. Just 14% of Facebook users say that they visit
the site less than once a week.
Instagram users visit the site nearly as frequently as Facebook users. More than half 57% of Instagram users use the app on a daily basis, with 35% doing so
several times per day. 46% use Twitter daily, with 29% checking in several times per day. However, 32% of Twitter users say that they check in less than once per week.
Pinterest and LinkedIn
users tend to have more intermittent patterns of usage. Just 23% of Pinterest users and 13% of LinkedIn users visit the sites daily, and around half say they use the sites less than once per week.
Frequency of Social Media Use (% of Site Users) |
Social Site | Daily | Weekly | Less Often |
Facebook | 63% | 22% | 14% |
Instagram | 57 | 20 | 22 |
Twitter | 46 | 21 | 32 |
Pinterest | 23 | 30 | 45 |
LinkedIn | 13 | 34 | 52 |
Source: PewResearch, December 2013 |
63% of Facebook users visit the site at least once a day, with 40% doing so multiple times throughout the day. Instagram and Twitter have a significantly smaller number
of users than Facebook does, but users of these sites also tend to visit them frequently. 57% of Instagram users visit the site at least once a day (with 35% doing so multiple times per day), and 46%
of Twitter users are daily visitors (with 29% visiting multiple times per day).
While Facebook is popular across a diverse mix of demographic groups, other sites have developed their own
unique demographic user profiles.
18% of online adults currently use Twitter according to the report, statistically similar to the 16% who did so in 2012. As was the case in previous surveys
on Twitter use, adoption levels are particularly high among younger adults and African-Americans.
17% of online adults use Instagram, up from 13% in late 2012. Two groups in particular have
experienced a notable increase in usage in the last year. Instagram use by internet users ages 18-29 has increased from 28% in late 2012 to 37% in 2013. Adoption by African American internet users has
increased from 23% to 34% over the same time period, according to the report.
21% of online adults use Pinterest, up from the 15% in December 2012. 33% of online women are Pinterest users,
compared to just 8% of men. Pinterest users skew slightly towards the affluent side. Those in the highest income bracket are more likely than those in the lowest to use the site, as are those with a
college degree or higher compared to those who have not attended college.
22% of online adults are LinkedIn users. Geared towards professional networking, its user demographics are unique from
the other sites discussed. LinkedIn usage is especially high among people with a college degree or higher, and among those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more. It is also the only
social networking site measured for which usage among 50-64 year olds is higher than usage among those ages 18-29.
Demographics Of Key Social Networking Platforms |
Demographic | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | LinkedIn |
All users | 71% | 18% | 17% | 21% | 22% |
Gender |
Men | 66 | 17 | 15 | 8 | 24 |
Women | 76 | 18 | 20 | 33 | 19 |
Ethnicity |
White, Non-Hispanic | 71 | 16 | 12 | 21 | 22 |
Black, Non-Hispanic | 76 | 29 | 34 | 20 | 30 |
Hispanic | 73 | 16 | 23 | 18 | 13 |
Age |
18-29 | 84 | 31 | 37 | 27 | 15 |
30-49 | 79 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 27 |
50-64 | 60 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 24 |
65+ | 45 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 13 |
HH Annual Income |
< $30K | 76 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 12 |
$30-49 | 76 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 13 |
$50-74 | 68 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 22 |
$75K + | 69 | 19 | 16 | 27 | 38 |
Source: PewResearch, December 2013 |
The results in this report are
based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from August 7 to September 16, 2013, For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95%
confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
For additional information on this study from PewResearch, please visit here.