Saturday, October 6, 2012

Asides: Twitter Use 2012

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Twitter-Use-2012/Findings.aspx

As a personal Twitter aficionado, I am surprised at the low number of Twitter users! The statistics say that only 15% of adults use Twitter with only 8% using it daily. My mom asked me the other day if she was “out of the loop” since she doesn’t have an account. And the truth is yes, she is out of the loop! Twitter is not just a social media site. Twitter is where I get all the breaking news, gossip, get to see pictures of my friends as well as celebrities,  I get to follow famous people who inspire me and read their firsthand thoughts, politicians to learn about their standpoints, my favorite brands to get deals, and so so much more. Social media networking is becoming so necessary in business and society nowadays, it’s almost unheard of not to have a Facebook or Twitter account. The article says that the most popular demographic users are African Americans, young adults, and urban and suburban residents. It’s clear that rural people who aren’t as attached with society wouldn’t have the extreme urge to be connected and informed all the time like urban residents. Young adults probably use Twitter more because they are tech-savvy as well as interested in learning and being informed about society as much as possible. Both men and women use Twitter equally, similar to other social network sites. I think with or without all of the graphs, charts and statistics of who uses Twitter, the main focus is that social media sites are essential and people want to be up-to-date. The easy and quick access to information makes it almost impossible not to be informed. Take for instance, a football game. If I am curious to who won the game or what horrible calls were made, I will check my twitter feed before I check the news or ESPN or the newspaper. I can’t even imagine how people functioned without information in their immediate grasp. Our society thrives on instant gratification and won’t settle for anything less. With Twitter available on all smart phones, I predict its usage to rise immensely among people of all ages, races, social statuses, and education levels.

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