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Highlights of the Pew Internet Projects research related to social networking.

(Note: This page will be updated whenever new data is available.)

As of January2014, 74% of online adults use social networking sites.

As of September2014:

For a detailed demographic portrait of users of various social networking sites from September 2014, please see our recent report,Social Media Update 2014.

In May 2013, 74% of women were users of social networking sites, compared with 62% of men.

Between February 2005 and August 2006, the use of social networking sites among young adult internet users ages 18-29 jumped from 9% to 49%. Social networking site use by age group, over time:

The growing ubiquity of cell phones, especially the rise of smartphones, has made social networking just a finger tap away. Fully 40% of cell phone owners use a social networking site on their phone, and 28% do so on a typical day. Young people, blacks, Hispanics, the highly educated and those with a higher annual household income are more likely to use SNS on their phones than other groups.

Do social networking sites isolate people and truncate their relationships? Or are there benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? In November 2010, we examined SNS in a survey that explored peoples overall social networks and how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, community, and political engagement, and found:

For more specific information on our findings on the social impact of technology, please seehttp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks.aspx

As of August 2012:

Overall, 56% of internet users do at least one of the creating or curating activities we studied and 32% of internet users do both creating and curating activities.

The average Facebook user gets more from their friends on Facebook than they give to their friends. Why? Because of a segment of power users, who specialize in different Facebook activities and contribute much more than the typical user does.

We conducted a new study that for the first time combines server logs of Facebook activity with survey data to explore the structure of Facebook friendship networks and measures of social well-being. These data were then matched with survey responses. And the new findings show that over a one-month period:

Read more about Facebook activity and Facebook power users in our report, Why most Facebook users get more than they give

Social networking sites have become an important additional arena for politics. They are a resource for political news, information, finding likeminded issue-oriented people, and a tool for voter outreach in the run-up to elections. During the 2012 campaign season, Pew Internet released a number of reports on the role of social networking sites on elections and the political process:

For a full overview of Pew Internets research on the internet and politics, please read our Politics Summary Sheet. Or for access to our full politics archive, please visit http://pewinternet.org/Topics/Activities-and-Pursuits/Politics.aspx?typeFilter=5

Why Americans use social media

Social Isolation and New Technology

The Social Side of the Internet

Millennials will make online sharing in networks a lifelong habit

Teens and Social Media

The Strength of Internet Ties

Originally posted here:
Social Networking Fact Sheet | Pew Research Center