• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, May 4, 2018

According to research from YouGov and The Economist, only a slim majority (54%) of those with an opinion of Facebook have a favorable view of the social media platform, in stark contrast with other big tech companies.

The study asked 1,500 US adults their opinions on a variety of social media and other tech companies, and looked closely at the favorability of the largest 3 (Google, Amazon and Facebook), by calculating the percentage of adults with a positive opinion from those who hold any opinion (by excluding those who “don’t know”). 

Facebook

92% of adults surveyed have some type of opinion of Facebook. While those opinions lean favorable, there’s a lot of ambivalence about the platform, says the report.

Among those who expressed an opinion about Facebook, 54% said it was “very” or “somewhat” favorable, though leaning more towards the “somewhat” than the “very.” By contrast, among the 46% who have an unfavorable opinion, more said their opinion was “very” than “somewhat” unfavorable.

18-29-year-olds hold the worst opinions of Facebook, says the report. Just 42% of those who expressed a view of the platform said it was a favorable one.

Looking at other demographics (with the percentages limited to those who expressed an opinion), the research finds that:

• Favorability is far higher among women (61%) than men (46%)
• Black adults (66%) and Hispanic adults (63%) are far more likely to have a favorable opinion than White adults (52%)
• Favorability is considerably lower among affluent ($100k+) than lower-income (<$50k) adults, at 46% and 63%, respectively

Google

The overall favorability ratings for Google are significantly higher than they are for Facebook. Among those expressing an opinion about Google, 83% said it was a favorable one, says the report.

Favorability was consistent across age groups, ranging from a high of 85% among 18-29-year-olds to a low of 77% among those 65 and older.

Across other demographic cuts, the report shows that:

• Google’s favorability (among those expressing an opinion) was higher again among women (85%) than men (78%)
• 90% of Black adults with an opinion of Google hold a favorable view of it, compared to 84% of Hispanic adults and 80% of White adults
• Lower-income adults (84%) have a slightly more positive view than affluent adults (80%).

Amazon

Amazon, (with 100 million Prime members), holds high favorability ratings, with 82% of those with an opinion have a positive one

Unlike Google, 18-29-year-olds have the least favorable opinion, with just 71% with a perspective have a favorable one, compared to at least 85% of the other age groups.

Women (87% of those with an opinion) hold a more favorable view than men (77%), and Black adults (91%) are also again among those with the most favorable outlook.

The differences in favorability were not as stark as with the other companies when sorting by income group.

Other Social & Tech Companies

The following highlights favorability ratings for other companies included in the report, without eliminating the “Don’t Know” responses:

40% of adults overall have a favorable view of Twitter, rising to 57% among Hispanics and 52% among Black adults

 37% overall have a favorable view of LinkedIn, with this figure highest among affluents (56%)

• 51% overall have a favorable opinion of Pinterest, with this figure highest among women (61%) and 30-44-year-olds (59%)
• Just 22% overall have a favorable opinion of Tumblr(including 33% of 18-29-year-olds), largely due to 58% not having an opinion, as favorability outweighed unfavorability;
• 47% have a favorable opinion of Instagram, highest among Hispanics (64%) and Black adults (61%)
• 31% overall have a favorable opinion of Snapchat, matched by the 31% who have an unfavorable opinion, though Snapchat scores well with Hispanics (50%), Black adults (49%) and 18-29-year-olds (51%)
• Only 25% overall have a favorable opinion of Reddit(including 37% of 18-29-year-olds and of Hispanics), again due to most (57%) not having an opinion, as favorability outweighs unfavorability
• 76% overall have a favorable opinion of Microsoft, with this figure highest among those ages 65 and older (81%) and with household income of at least $100k (81%)
• 46% have a favorable opinion of Tesla(36% don’t know), with positive views of Tesla highest among 30-44-year-olds (53%) and affluents (57%)

The report says that many of these findings can be traced back to the demographic make-up of these platforms. For example, Instagram is popular with multicultural groups, while Pinterest has a strong female audience, and LinkedIn leans towards high-income households.

MarketingCharts’ 4th annual US Media Audience Demographics report provides

more on the demographic constitution of the top 6 social media platforms here, while eMarketer takes things a step further, calling for mobile to be the new forecast from eMarketeroverall in the US as soon as this year.