Nearly half—48%—of Americans age 12 and older are now members of at least one social network, according to a new national survey from Arbitron and Edison Research. Showing the rapid rate at which the trend has spread, just 24% of Americans 12 and up had joined a social network two years ago. “Social networking has become a part of mainstream media behavior,” said Tom Webster, VP of strategy and marketing at Edison Research.
What’s more, social networking is not being entirely wasted on the young. Indeed, while nearly eight in ten teens—78%—and 18- to- 24-year-olds—77%—do have personal profile pages, almost two-thirds of those 25 to 34—65%—and half of those 35 to 44—51%—also now have personal profile pages.
The study also shows that 30% of Americans age 12 and older who have a profile on at least one social networking Web site use those sites “several times a day,” compared with only 18% one year ago.
“The use of social networking sites has expanded beyond younger consumers, with substantial numbers of Americans over the age of 35 now using social media,” said Bill Rose, SVP of marketing at Arbitron.
From late January, Arbitron conducted telephone interviews with 1,753 persons to investigate Americans’ use of digital platforms and new media.
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