Thank you to Jill for passing this along:
Most of the comments relate to personal usage of Social Media and the survey does not seem to be skewed toward business usage.
According to a new study by Anderson Analytics that involved 5,000 U.S. social media users:
* 61% of social media users are under age 35
* 55% of social media users are female
* 29% of Facebook and LinkedIn users say they could “probably do without” the popular networks
* 35% said they could do without MySpace
* 43% could live without Twitter
* Under 35, people rely on social networks for “fun” and contacting friends
* Older consumers use them to stay in touch with family and friends
* 75% said Facebook was their most valuable network, 65% who cited MySpace
* 30% said LinkedIn was their most valuable network
* 12% said Twitter was most valuable
* 32% of male respondents said using social media for business/career contacts was a key benefit, 22% for females
The Anderson report also found an estimated 110 million people in the U.S., 36% of the total population, use social media regularly. Of that group, Facebook dominates with 78 million regular users, followed by MySpace with 67 million, Twitter with 17 million, and LinkedIn with 11 million regular users.
http://danryansview.com/2009/07/18/social-media-usage-statistics/
