YNOT – The number of internet-connected adults who use the micro-blogging service Twitter grew by 5 percent between November 2010 and May 2011, according to a new survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on behalf of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. As of May 22, 13 percent of online adults use Twitter, a significant uptick from the 8 percent who identified themselves as Twitter users in November.
Among respondents who reported using Twitter, 95 percent own a mobile phone; more than half of those (54 percent) access the service on their handheld devices. African Americans and Latinos continue to lead new adopters of the service, and the gap between those groups and Caucasian Twitter users is growing. Fully 25 percent of online African-American survey respondents reported using Twitter at least occasionally, and 11 percent said they tweet on a typical day. Among online Latinos, 19 percent reported using Twitter; only 9 percent of white adults admitted tweeting.
Twitter uptake by internet users ages 25-34 has more than doubled since late 2010 (from 9 percent to 19 percent), and usage by those ages 35-44 also grew significantly (from 8 percent to 14 percent). The largest group of adult Twitter users (18 percent) is 18-29.
Additionally, survey responses indicated:
- The percentage of men and women using Twitter is about equal (14 percent and 11 percent, respectively).
- Twice as many Twitter users have graduated college as the number who stopped with a high school diploma.
- The majority of users is split equally between households that earn $75,000 or more annually and those that earn between $30,000 and $49,000 per year. Similarly, the remainder are equally split between those who earn less than $30,000 per year and $50,000 to $75,000 annually.
- More users reside in urban neighborhoods than in rural or suburban areas.
The complete report is online here.
