According to a research done by Global Web Index in 2014, it was found that on average, internet users have 5.54 social media accounts and are active users on 2.82 of them. The top social media platforms in question were Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube. The research was targeting three forms of engagement on social media: Account ownership, Visitation and Active Usage.
It was found that 18% of internet users have visited YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ the past month as per the end of 2014. A third of the users have visited YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The total time spent on social media was determined to be on the rise from an average of 1.61 hours per day in 2012 to 1.72 hours in 2014
When it comes to active usage, the 24-35 age group was ahead of the 16-24s with the former being active on 4.21 networks on average. This means that the 25-34 age group is the most engaged while the 16-24 age group are the most visible social networkers.
Also highlighted were the biggest reasons to own a social media account per age group:
1. 16-24: Follow celebrities, anticipating celebrity news, entertaining content and not missing out on anything
2. 25-34: Sharing details about their daily lives, promoting their work and networking for work
3. 35-44: Promoting their work, networking for work and staying up to date with current events
4. 45-54: General networking with other users, staying in touch with friends & because a lot of their friends are on it
5: 55-64: Staying in touch with friends, Its one of the sites they tend to visit and because a lot of their friends are in it.
The demographic part of the survey also revealed that the number of accounts falls as age increases as expected. 16-24 year olds have an average of 6.55 accounts each while in contrast, 55-64 year olds average 2.85 accounts each.
The biggest social media accounts were highlighted and it produced no surprises.
Facebook had the highest number of members and the highest number of active users. YouTube was being visited by 82% of internet users aged 16-64, putting it ahead of Facebook.
Finally of all the major social networks, Pinterest and Tumblr recorded the biggest rises in active user numbers (97% and 95% respectively). Instagram and LinkedIn rises were substantial too (47% and 38%). Facebook in particular experienced a drop in active usage in 2014 and the decline was consistent in all regions & age groups.
It would be interesting to anticipate the findings for 2015, which I expect will be announced by the end of the year.
Source: GWW, IMG Credit Flickr User: 4434969@N00
