LONDON (Reuters) reports that the number of British adults signing up to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace has almost doubled in the last two years, according to new research from the country’s communications watchdog.
Ofcom said its research reveals that 38 percent of internet users now have a social networking site profile — up from 22 percent in 2007.
Also revealed are some interesting gender differences, re: what the internet is regularly used for.
Men are more likely than women to use the web for news, while women are more likely to use the Internet for social networking, Ofcom said.
1:3 adults who use the internet (29%) are watching online or downloading TV programmes or films. Of those, adults aged
25-34 are more likely to watch TV online or download programmes and films and almost all are doing so through television broadcasters’Â websites.
These facts imply some fascinating trends:
* An opportunity for on-line advertising
* The latter needs to be considered together with age profiles
* Maybe kids have moved on to something else – firstly what is it and how long will it be before
adults are bored or wish to follow the ‘new thing’
* What is driving the motivation for adults to get online? Is it just a phase or simply because of
life becoming so busy & fast.
With regard to the latter, with ever increasing personal productivity, online government information/service sites and access to digital media, adults are likely to stay hooked.
Does this mean that the digital divide is changing. In my view, probably not as even though Broadband has wider coverage, are people really getting connected and do they know how to use services properly.
General Facebook stats (global) are also interesting:
Popularity: 1% [?]