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 PEW INTERNET PROJECT DATA MEMOBY: Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research SpecialistRE: Adults and social network websitesDATE: January 14, 2009, 4 PM EST
One third (35%) of American adult internet users have a profile on an online social  network site, four times as many as three years ago, but still much lower than the 65% of online American teens who use social networks
The share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network site hasmore than quadrupled in the past four years -- from 8% in 2005 to 35% now,
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accordingto the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s December 2008 tracking survey.While media coverage and policy attention focus heavily on how children and youngadults use social network sites, adults still make up the bulk of the users of thesewebsites. Adults make up a larger portion of the US population than teens, which is whythe 35% number represents a larger number of users than the 65% of online teens
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whoalso use online social networks.
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 Still, younger online adults are much more likely than their older counterparts to usesocial networks, with 75% of adults 18-24 using these networks, compared to just 7% of adults 65 and older. At its core, use of online social networks is still a phenomenon of the young.Specifically, our findings suggest that:Young people are much more likely than older adults to use social networks.
 
75% of online adults 18-24 have a profile on a social network site
 
57% of online adults 25-34 have a profile on a social network 
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The 35% data point and basic demographic information about social network users is from Pew InternetProject’s December 2008 Survey. All other data in the report is from the Project’s May 2008 survey, unlessotherwise noted.
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This teen data point is from our Gaming and Civic Engagement Survey of Teens fielded from November2007 through February 2008. n=1102 parent child pairs and the margin of error is +/- 3% for online teens.
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We define online social networks as spaces on the internet where users can create a profile and connectthat profile to others (individuals or entities) to create a personal network.
 
 
30% of online adults 35-44 have one
 
19% of online 45 to 54 year olds have a profile
 
10% of online 55 to 64 year olds have a profile
 
7% of online adults 65 and older have a profile
 
Overall, personal use of social networks seems to be more prevalent than professional useof networks, both in the orientation of the networks that adults choose to use as well asthe reasons they give for using the applications.
 
According to May 2008 survey findingsthat are released here for the first time:
 
50% of adult social network users have a profile on MySpace
 
22% have a profile on Facebook 
 
6% have a profile on LinkedInOnline social network applications are mainly used for explaining and maintainingpersonal networks, and most adults, like teens, are using them to connect with peoplethey already know.
 
89% use their online profiles to keep up with friends
 
57% use their profile to make plans with friends
 
49% use them to make new friends
 
Other uses: organize with other people for an event, issue or cause; flirt withsomeone; promote themselves or their work; make new business contactsWhen users do use social networks for professional and personal reasons, they will oftenmaintain multiple profiles, generally on different sites.
 
51% of social network users have two or more online profiles
 
43% have only one online profileAmong social network users with multiple profiles:
 
83% have those profiles on different sites
 
17% have those profiles on one site
 
24% have multiple profiles so they can keep up with friends on different sites
 
19% have multiple profiles to separate the personal and the professional
 
6% just use different sites
 
4% have different profiles for different parts of their personality
 
4% have older profiles on sites they do not use anymoreMost, but not all adult social network users are privacy conscious:
 
60% of adult social network users restrict access to their profiles so that onlytheir friends can see it.2
 
 
36% of social network users allow anyone to see their online profile
 
58% of adult social network users restrict access to certain content within theirprofile
 
43% of adults think it would be pretty easy for someone to find out who theyare from their profile; 23% of teens say it would be pretty easy
 
33% of adults with profiles think that they would have to work at it, but thatsomeone could eventually find out who they are; 40% of teens say the same
 
20% of adults think that it would be difficult for someone to find out who theyare; 36% of teens say it would be difficult for someone to find out who theyare.This data memo is based on two surveys. The overall usage of social network sites datawas gathered in a national phone survey fielded from November 19 to December 20,2008 among 2,253 Americans, including 1,650 internet users. The margin of error in thatsample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The main findings on adults’ usage of socialnetwork sites come from a survey of 2,251 adults between April 8 to May 11, 2008,among a sample of adults, 18 and older. Some 328 respondents in that survey were socialnetwork users and the margin of error in that subsample is plus or minus 6 percentagepoints.
 Main Findings
Adults are much less likely than teens to have a profile on a social network website.About three in ten (35%) adult internet users age 18 and older have a profile on a socialnetworking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn. Meanwhile, teenagers are roughlytwice as likely as adults to use these sites: among teens 12 to 17 years old, 65% have aprofile on an online social network.
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Despite comparatively lower levels of socialnetwork use, usage of social network sites by adults has increased markedly over the pastfour years.Back in February of 2005, just 8% of adult internet users had used a social network site.That percentage had risen to 16% by August of 2006, and as of December 2008 stands at35% of online adults.
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This teen data point is from our Gaming and Civic Engagement Survey of Teens fielded from November2007 through February 2008. n=1102 parent child pairs and the margin of error is +/- 3% for online teens. All other data points in the survey are from our Teen & Parent 2006 Survey, fielded October-December2006, with a margin of error of +/- 4% for online teens.
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