As it turns out, 36 percent of smartphone owners use programs like WhatsApp, Kik, or iMessage; 17 percent use ephemeral messaging services such as Snapchat or Wickr. Only 32 percent of online adults between the age of 18 and 29 use Twitter. But even among older users, these types of services have taken hold; almost a quarter of adults 50 and older also use messaging apps.
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“The emergence of messaging apps is noteworthy as these communication tools serve different social needs than traditional online social networks”, the Pew study lead author Maeve Duggan said in the study release.
Other social media sites such as Pinterest and Instagram – though younger than Facebook – have doubled their usage since 2012 but growth on all the sites has slowed down in the past year. “The data also show how swiftly an already complex terrain of interaction is becoming more varied”.
Facebook remains the dominant social network for US internet users, while Twitter has apparently failed to keep apace with rivals like Instagram and Pinterest.
Facebook last month said its monthly active user based grew to 1.49 billion.
Facebook continues to dominate among social media sites, with 72% of online respondents saying they use it, 70% daily and 43% several times a day. (This spring, Pew reported that 71 percent of teens have accounts.). In terms of user growth, some of these networks – such as Facebook – may be approaching their ceiling. Fifty-nine percent of its Instagram users visit the site daily.
According to the report, some 23 percent of all online adults use Twitter, a proportion identical to that in September 2014.
Yet while Facebook may not be gaining users as quickly, it’s still being used.
Messaging apps like Snapchat that automatically deleted messages have become increasingly popular and utilized on the campaign trail.
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Wednesday’s report stemmed from telephone interviews conducted between March 17 through April 2015 with 1,907 adults nationwide, according to the Pew Research Center.
