Adult Use of Social Media Soars (from the WSJ)

Growth over the past year came from Americans over the age of 30… That’s exactly what I mean

By Sarah E. Needleman

If your small business doesn’t yet have a Facebook  page, LinkedIn profile or Twitter feed, a recent study may persuade you to  finally join the social-media bandwagon.

Sixty-five percent of all U.S. adults now use  social-networking sites, up from 61% a year ago and just 5% in 2005, reports Pew  Research Center. The findings are based on telephone interviews conducted in  April and May by Princeton Survey Research Associates International.  Most of the growth over the past year came from
Americans over the age of 30, with seniors accounting for the bulk of it.
One-third of adults ages 65 and older say they now use social-networking sites,
compared with 26% who said this a year ago. Still, young folks between 18 and 29
years old remain the overall biggest group tapping social networks today,
accounting for 83% of the total.  On a typical day, 43% of U.S. adults said they visit
sites like Facebook and Twitter, up from 38% a year ago, the survey finds. Among
just Internet users ages 50 to 64, social-networking usage on a typical day
increased to 32% from 20%. Compared with other online activities, respondents
overall said they only use email and search engines more frequently than social
networks.

Readers, if you don’t use social media for your business, what’s holding you back? If you do, how much effort do you put into it  and has it been paying off?

….. Thus the birth of theMADMEDIAGROUP… Helllllllo