In case
there was any doubt about it, a newly released Pew Research Center study
confirmed younger adults are more likely to be active on social media—except
for LinkedIn—than any other adult age group.
The
research report said the survey was conducted by phone in March and April of
2015. Only adults aged 18 and up were included.
Facebook is
still the big kahuna among all social-media sites. Although its growth has
flattened in recent years, the site still commands active use from 72% of all
online adults and 82% of those aged 18-29. That age bracket also dominated
users of Instagram (55%, almost double the percentage of all adults), Pinterest
(37%), Twitter (32%), Tumblr (20%) and online discussion groups such as reddit
or Digg (20%).
Only on
LinkedIn do the numbers of younger adults falter. They account for just 22% of
users, compared to those 30-49 (32%) and 50-64 (26%). That’s not surprising,
given that LinkedIn is aimed at working professionals.
Overall, in
relation to Facebook, adult usage of the other major social-media sites is
still low but growing at a rapid pace. “The proportion of online adults who use
Pinterest and Instagram has doubled since Pew Research Center first started
tracking social media platform adoption in 2012,” the report said.
The survey
also looked at adult use of messaging apps, such as iMessage, WhatsApp, and
Kik. Again, the 18-29 group topped the others, with 49% using such apps to
exchange text messages via Wi-Fi to avoid using up data on a cellphone plan.
