Facebook is still top social network, Twitter and LinkedIn far behind: Survey

Facebook is by far the most popular social media website with its large base of “very active” users visiting the site daily, a new survey of American internet users has found. The survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that while Facebook remains the most popular social media site, its overall growth has slowed and other sites continue to see increase in usership. The survey, which collected data from 1,597 internet users in September 2014, found that overall, 71% of internet users are on Facebook, a proportion that represents no change from August 2013. Every other social media platform measured saw significant growth between 2013 and 2014. Twenty-eight per cent of the respondents said they used LinkedIn and Pinterest, and Twitter had 23% usage. For the first time in Pew Research findings, more than half (56%) of internet users ages 65 and older said they used Facebook. According to the survey, the engagement of Facebook users continues to grow, while daily use on other platforms shows little change. Facebook’s large base of users continues to be very active. Fully 70% engage with the site daily (and 45% do so several times a day), a significant increase from the 63% who did so in 2013. About half (49%) of Instagram users and 17% of Pinterest users engage with their respective platforms daily, although neither of these represent a significant change from 2013. Some 36% of Twitter users visit the site daily, but this actually represents a 10-point decrease from the 46% who did so in 2013. While the 13% of LinkedIn users who engage with the platform daily is unchanged from 2013, the proportion of users who use the site weekly or less often increased significantly - that is, more users log on less frequently. As in 2013, Facebook remains the most popular among those who use only one - fully 79% of those who use just one site report using Facebook. As in years past, a significant majority of Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn users said they also use Facebook, more than any other site. At the same time, the proportion of Facebook users who also use another site is on the rise - that is, there are more Facebook users this year who also use Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn than there were in 2013. The results are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International in September 2014. PTI