Study: 65% of Adults Online Now Use Social Media Sites

A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project on social media reveals that nearly two-thirds of adults on the Internet say they use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, up slightly from a year ago. Drilling down further, the research also shows that social media use among Baby Boomers is growing at a faster clip — among users aged 50-64, 33% say they visit a social network daily, a 20% increase from last year.

Among online adults:

• 83% of 18-29 year-olds
• 70% of 30-49 year-olds
• 51% of 50-64 year-olds, and
• 33% of those ages 65 and older

use social-networking sites.

Users generally enjoy their experiences, describing them as mostly “good”:

Also according to Pew:

“Among internet users, social networking sites are most popular with women and young adults under age 30. Young adult women ages 18-29 are the power users of social networking; fully 89% of those who are online use the sites overall and 69% do so on an average day. As of May 2011, there are no significant differences in use of social networking sites based on race and ethnicity, household income, education level, or whether the internet user lives in an urban, suburban, or rural environment.”

Search Engine Journal created the infographic below, which gives an excellent breakdown of social media usage growth and patterns. It aggregates data from the Pew report along with some other recent statistics, showing how much social media has forever changed how we interact and connect online.