Study: Nearly Half of America Uses Social Networks

Posted 04/12/2010 at 5:08am | by Paul Lilly

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Not into the whole social networking thing? Well then you're in the majority, but just barely. According to a new study, some 48 percent of Americans age 12 and older are all about making friends online and have a profile on one or more social networking sites.

And it's not just teens and young adults who have latched onto social networking in a big way. The number of people with personal profiles in varying age brackets breaks down like this:

• Teenagers: 78 percent
• 18 to 24 year olds: 77 percent
• 25 to 34 year olds: 65 percent
• 35 to 44 year olds: 51 percent

"The use of social networking sites has expanded beyond younger consumers, with substantial numbers of Americans over age of 35 now using social media," said Bill Rose, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Arbitron Inc.

The younger crowd does appear to be taking a bigger interest than before, however. According to the study, 30 percent of Americans age 12 and older log onto their preferred social networking site "several times a day," whereas that number was just 18 percent one year ago.

Image Credit: timboucher.com