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Comscore Study Highlights Trend in Social Networking Usage Among 15-24 Year Olds
LONDON, U.K., August 11, 2009 –Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released an analysis of social networking among 15-24 year olds indicating that more people in this age group are visiting social networking sites versus year ago. While the average 15-24 year old is spending less time overall on social networking sites, it appears to be due to greater consolidation around a primary site.
The number of 15-24 year olds visiting social networking sites reached 6.8 million in June, up 14 percent versus the previous year. Though the overall audience of social networkers in this age segment is up substantially during the past year, the time they spent on social networking sites is down 9 percent. The overall decline in time spent on the sites appears to be attributable to younger users spending less time on secondary social networking sites.
Profile of Social Networking Sites Among People Age 15-24June 2009Total U.K. , Age 15-24, Home & Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Total Minutes (MM)
Jun-2008
Jun-2009
% Change
Total Internet: Age 15-24
7,076
7,747
9
10,488
11,454
Social Networking
5,998
6,821
14
2,419
2,211
-9
Facebook.com
3,844
5,806
51
952
1,512
59
Bebo
3,860
2,790
-27
1034
392
-62
MySpace Sites
2,409
1,818
-25
294
105
-64
Windows Live Profile
N/A
1,630
8
Twitter.com
598
10
Buzznet
279
406
46
7
-12
Digg.com
365
375
3
0
1
78
Tagged.com
174
337
94
2
27
1,150
DeviantArt.com
311
331
13
4
-67
Orkut
211
25
“Recent reports have suggested that 15-24 year olds in the U.K. are moving away from social networking sites because they’re no longer cool as older users have encroached on their virtual space. Comscore research indicates that is simply not the case,” said Mike Read, SVP and Managing Director, Comscore Europe. “In fact, more 15-24 year olds are using social networking sites than a year ago, so there isn’t any particular aversion to the activity. What does appear to be happening is that younger users are beginning to consolidate around Facebook and are spending less time on competing sites.”
Younger Social Networkers Move Toward “Older” Facebook
Despite the reports that younger users are moving away from social networking sites to avoid their older counterparts, a demographic analysis of the top social networking sites reveals just the opposite. Younger users are increasingly moving towards Facebook as their primary social networking destination; however, Facebook has a substantially older user profile than Bebo and MySpace. Specifically, 77 percent of Facebook visitors are age 25 or older, compared to 65 percent of Bebo visitors and 69 percent of MySpace visitors.
Age Profile of Top 3 Social Networking SitesJune 2009Total U.K. , Age 15+, Home & Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
% Composition Unique Visitors
Total Persons - Age
100.0%
Persons: 15-24
23.0%
35.4%
31.5%
Persons: 25+
77.0%
64.6%
68.5%
“These data suggest that not only are younger social networkers not avoiding their older counterparts, but they are actually gravitating towards a site that skews more heavily towards users age 25 and older,” added Read. “It’s likely that the age of one’s peers on a social networking site is not a critical factor in how 15-24 year olds will spend their time online. But as people’s digital media lives become increasingly fragmented, users are craving the simplicity of fewer platforms – and the dominant social networking platform right now appears to be Facebook.”
About ComscoreComscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
Ayaan MohamudComscore, Inc.+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775worldpress@comscore.com