Data on Twitter and Social Media Use

This latest report based on the findings of Pew Internet & American Life’s daily tracking survey on Americans’ use of the internet released in October 2009 shows 19% of internet users now say they use Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, or to see updates about others. This represents a significant increase over previous surveys in December 2008 and April 2009, when 11% of internet users said they use a status-update service.

Three groups of internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the internet via mobile devices, and younger internet users – those under age 44.

In addition, the more devices someone owns, the more likely they are to use Twitter or another service to update their status. Fully 39% of internet users with four or more internet-connected devices (such as a laptop, cell phone, game console, or Kindle) use Twitter, compared to 28% of internet users with three devices, 19% of internet users with two devices, and 10% of internet users with one device.

• The median age of a Twitter user is 31, which has remained stable over the past year.
• The median age for MySpace is now 26, down from 27 in May 2008.
• The median age for LinkedIn is now 39, down from 40.
• The median age for Facebook is now 33, up from 26 in May 2008.

Pew concludes:

It will probably become more difficult to track status updating as an independent activity as social network updates feed into Twitter and vice versa. For now, it is clear that a “social segment” of internet users is flocking to both social network sites and status update services. This segment is likely to grow as ever more internet users adopt mobile devices as a primary means of going online.

TargetCast Survey Shows Trends in Media Use

According to a new survey from TargetCast tcm:

• Young adults 18-34 rank the internet as more important than TV
• Those ages 35+ still consider newspaper ads to be more influential in determining their purchase decisions.
• A third of adults 18-64 report that  they are using the Internet more as both a source of information and entertainment.
• Adults ages 18-34 are more likely to have replaced newspapers and magazines with internet content.
• Adults older than 25 are more likely to consider magazines and newspapers as valuable sources of information.
• Adults ages 18-24 are more likely to say radio is not as relevant and that they prefer reading magazines online.
• 40% of Adults 18-64 say that they prefer the experience of reading printed newspapers over online news sources.
• 41% of those surveyed indicate that radio is still relevant in today’s media environment. Respondents overall prefer to listen to music through the radio station vs. Internet stations or on their mp3 player.

Read all the details at: TargetCast tcm Releases Findings of 2009 Consumer Trend Report

Data Shows Web Usage Levels Off

Forrester’s annual report on American media usage found that we use the Internet 12 hours per week on average, about the same as last year. That leveling off is believed to be about the maturation of the online audience, with online usage rising 117% from 2004 to 2009.

Among the insights:

• Use differed by age group. Those aged 18 to 29 spend a little more than 19 hours per week on average. Those aged 20 to 43 spend 17 hours per week online. 
• Young singles and couples are the most connected to the Internet. They are more likely to go
  online in places other than home or work, these consumers tend to carry the Net with them. About half has send a picture from a cell phone in the past month, and a quarter has accessed the mobile Internet.
• Young families are heavy tech adopters. This group owns the most devices overall, but they especially lead the adoption of family-friendly devices like Blu-ray players, DVRs and game consoles. A high 93% owns a DVD player, 76% has some type of game console at home, and 39% has a home theatre system. 
• Older families have the most digitally connected homes. As already shows from the graphic, families with older children live in a ‘wired’ home. Their average spend on connectivity is highest across Internet, TV, and phone. They have on average 3 mobile phones at home, and more than 2 PCs.
• Older consumers spend most money online. While lagging on the adoption of many technologies, these consumers are the leaders when it comes to online spending. They’ve spend on average $560 dollar online in the past three months, and about one in five spent more than $1,000 online.