MarketingCharts: U.S. social network usage stopped growing at the end of 2012

2013.02.18@MarketingCharts

According to a report by the Pew Research Center, among American Internet users, the proportion of users aged 18-29 using social networks has declined, falling to 83% in December 2012 (92% in August 2012). In four months, the proportion of this age group using social networks has dropped by 10%, reaching the lowest point in the past two years. Overall, after rising for several consecutive years, the proportion of Internet users using social networks fell for the first time in December 2012, from 69% to 67%. It should be noted that although the proportion has dropped, the actual number of people using social networks may be increasing, which depends on the changes in the total number of Internet users in the United States.

Meanwhile, during the four-month period from August 2012 to December 2012, only the proportion of netizens aged 30-49 using social networks increased, from 73% to 77%. This means that the difference between the usage rate of this age group and the 18-29 age group narrowed, from 19% in August to 6% in December.

Among the older age groups, the percentage of users aged 50-64 using social networks dropped from 57% to 52%, while the percentage of users aged 65 and above dropped from 38% to 32%.

Among all social network users, females were 15% more likely to use social networks than males (71% vs. 62%) as of December 2012. Hispanics were more likely to use social networks than the average (72% vs. 67%)—perhaps because Hispanics tend to be younger than whites.

Pew Research Center also found that users with annual household incomes of less than $30,000 are more likely to use social networks (72%), while the proportion of other income groups is lower than the average. Urban residents use social networks more than suburban residents (67%) and rural residents (61%), with a usage rate of 70%.