eMarketer: Two-thirds of U.S. internet users will use social media by 2014
Published May 26, 2010
The skyrocketing growth of social media is not expected to slow any time soon, as a recent report from eMarketer projected that two-thirds of all U.S. internet users - representing 164.9 million people - will be regular social network users by 2014.
The study, titled Social Network Demographics and Usage, found that 59.2 percent of U.S. internet users visited social networking websites at least monthly in 2010, representing 127 million people. This marks an increase of 6.8 percent over 2009's monthly usage figures, when 109.2 million people visited social networking websites on a monthly basis.
"There is no doubt anymore that social networks, reaching more than 50 percent of the total U.S. internet audience, are an essential part of the internet experience," said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the report. "The connections and interactions that social networking makes possible didn't even exist a few short years ago."
Digital marketing professionals may also be interested to learn that the demographic breakdown of regular social media users has shifted away from teens and young adults, and adoption is quickly growing among the 45-to-54 age group, the report found.
With Facebook already boasting a user base of more than 400 million people and counting, the growth of this audience ensures that social media will remain an integral part of the digital marketing mix in the coming years.