More than four times as many Anglophones 18+ are using social media than a decade ago (75% versus 18% in 2006), but its penetration has remained unchanged over the past year, according to the latest report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
The report, Social Networking: Analysis Of the English-Language Market, says social networking is now “almost ubiquitous” among millennials and students, used by 89% of the two constituencies. Those with children (82%) and people residing in Atlantic Canada (83%) are also more likely to use social networks.
More than half (56%) of social network users say they check their networks several times a day, while 25% check at least once a day. Less than 5% of social network users say they check their pages less than once a week.
Those numbers vary widely by platform, with more than half (55%) of Facebook users saying they check the platform several times a day, followed by 48% of Snapchat users and 43% of Reddit users. By comparison, only 7% of LinkedIn users and 11% of Pinterest users say they check the site several times a day.
More than half of all social networkers limit their use of social media platforms to two, while 18% use three and 13% use four. By comparison, 13% of respondents also indicate they use five or more social networks.
Facebook remains the most popular social network by a “wide margin” according to MTM, used by 92% of social networkers. LinkedIn (33%), Pinterest (27%), Twitter (26%), and Instagram (26%) are also popular, with the report noting newer “niche” networks including Snapchat, Reddit and Tumblr are especially popular among younger Anglophones.
Smartphones are also becoming an increasingly popular social networking tool, with 62% of Anglophones using them to access social media, up from 58% in the previous year. The report attributes the growth to the rise of mobile focused social networking platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.
Social networkers also spend almost three hours per week online than other internet users: 26.1 hours per week versus 23.4 hours per week. They are also “slightly more interested” in both online video and online audio.
Growth rates for the various social networks also vary, with LinkedIn having grown by 44% since 2012-13, while Twitter remained relatively unchanged over the same period.
While Pinterest saw a large jump between 2013-14 and 2014-15, it too remained flat last year. Pinterest is one of the only social networks to have a distinct gender bias, with its users predominantly female with children under 12 in their home.
Instagram users, meanwhile, are often 18-34 years old and students, while users of SnapChat – another visually focused network – tend to be Gen Z (between the ages of 18-26).
The report says more than one third (37%) of Twitter users are heavy consumers of news content, configuring it as a news feed by compiling their favourite sources.
The findings are based on telephone interviews with 6,308 Anglophones from all regions of the country conducted in two waves (Oct. 8 to Dec. 6, 2015 and March 14 to May 2). The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 1.2% 19 times out of 20.
