Adults’ social networking more than doubled since 2008: Study

I’m not sure “the graying of social networking,” as Pew puts it, quite describes what Pew discovered in its latest look at adult use of social sites in the US. It’s more the mainstreaming of social networking, I think. “Fully 65% of adult internet users now say they use a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn, up from 61% one year ago,” according to the just-released report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Which means half of all US adults (including us parents, of course) now participate in online social networking. Frequency of use is certainly still higher the younger the user, but the frequency rate has stabilized among users under 30 (61% now use a social site on a typical day, up from 60% a year ago). The oldest users are still far from regulars at Facebook – they’re more “testing the waters,” says report author Mary Madden, but for baby boomers, stopping by a social site becoming “part of their daily routine.” Among the latter, social networking site usage on a typical day grew a significant 60% (from 20% to 32%). [See also “A window onto family Facebook use: TRUSTe study.”]