Thanks To Grandma Facebook Was The Dominant Social Network In 2013

Seventy-one percent of online adults use Facebook compared to 18% for Twitter and 17% for Instagram, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

By
Mike Hayes
by Mike Hayes

BuzzFeed News Reporter

A new Pew study on 2013 social media sites released Monday showed that Facebook remains the most used platform in the social networking space. Seventy-one percent of online adults are now Facebook users, up from 67% in 2012.

pewinternet.org

Facebook saw its largest and only substantial growth amongst your parents and grandparents this year, with 45% of people 65-plus years old now using Facebook, up from 35% in 2012.

pewinternet.org

A senior Pew researcher says that growth amongst the younger 18–29 demographic has plateaued at 84%.

“It’s hard to get more than 85 percent of anyone doing anything,” Pew's Aaron Smith told The Washington Post Monday. “A lot of the easy converts in the younger group, or even in the older and middle-aged group, are already on the site. The senior group is the only area that has any substantial area for growth.”

According to the Pew study, while Facebook is most widely popular among a mix of demos, other social networks saw key growth with unique audiences.

For example, Twitter use was particularly high with younger adults and African-Americans in 2013.

pewinternet.org

Instagram adoption by internet users ages 18–29 grew from 28% in 2012 to 37% in 2013. And Instagram is pacing Facebook in terms of daily use (57% vs. 63%).

pewinternet.org
pewinternet.org

Twenty-one percent of online adults now use Pinterest, up from 15% in 2012. Women continue to dominate the site: 33% of online women use Pinterest, compared to just 8% of men.

pewinternet.org

The report focused on five specific social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest), omitting other social sites such as YouTube, Google+, Tumblr, Reddit, and Vine, and messaging sites popular among teens like SnapChat and WhatsApp.

Full Report

pewinternet.org

Skip to footer