A new Pew report was released this week on the social media habits of Americans and it more or less confirms a lot of what we know about millennials, Facebook, and the rising use of messaging apps on smartphones. The data reveals "the noteworthy and rapid emergence of different kinds of communications tools serving different social needs." Interestingly, the 2015 report is the first time that researchers have looked at mobile messaging as a separate category, studying the habits of users on WhatsApp, iMessage, Snapchat and the like.
Of the major findings, the researchers found that 85 percent of American adults are Internet users and that 67 percent are on smartphones. Facebook is still king, with 72 percent of adults using the site, but Instagram and Pinterest are on the rise, doubling their communities since 2012 (up to 28 percent and 31 percent, respectively). In addition, nobody seems to be using Tumblr -- except for diehard young adults who seem to understand it better than anyone.
The study is comprised of data culled from "telephone interviews conducted March 17, 2015 through April 12, 2015 among a national sample of 1,907 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. 672 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1,235 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 730 who had no landline telephone." No landline telephone? Sounds like smartphone users.
Main findings:
Duh...young adults love messaging apps.
Only 10 percent of Internet user adults are on Tumblr, but the stark majority is the under 30 crowd.
Facebook is still king, but Pinterest and Instagram are on the rise. (Poor Twitter)
See the breakdown of users, network by network, here.