Tweeting More Ubiquitous Than Other Electronic Socializing

According to a survey conducted by Crowd Science, with Twitter being accessed from mobile devices to a greater extent than other social media, Twitter users also use social media more in such locations as cars, restaurants and restrooms. 11% of Twitter users admitted to accessing social media while driving during the preceding 30 days, compared with just 5% of other social media users. And 29% of Twitter users said they had accessed social media from cars at some point in the past, compared with 13% of non-users.

John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science, notes that "Twitter is more of a mobile media phenomenon than other social networks, so these results, while a little disturbing, are... not so surprising... the bottom line is that either type of activity takes a driver's attention away from the road."

The survey found that only 27% of Twitter users tweet daily, while 46% check updates daily. In addition, 24% of Twitters users have never tweeted, or have ceased doing so.

According to the survey, 40% of Twitter users access the service via mobile at least sometimes, compared with 32% for Facebook users, and 8% use mobile all the time vs. 3% for Facebook.

In addition to the greater usage while driving, the survey also found that over the past 30 days,

• Twice as many Twitter users as non-Twitter social media users (8% to 4%) had accessed any social media from a theater during a movie or live performance.
• 17% of Twitter users vs. 12% of non-Twitter social media users had accessed social media from a washroom or toilet
• Nearly three times as many Twitter users as other social media users have accessed social media from restaurants (31% vs. 12%).

Considering the attitudes of Twitter users, says the report, a significant number of social media users use the applications because friends and contacts do (17%), or because stopping or reducing its use would be damaging to their social status (15%.).

32% of Twitter users feel they spend too much time using social media, 22% say they've written things on social media that they've later regretted, and 16% report that they often neglect important activities to spend time on social media. Yet 25% of Twitter users say social media is their favorite leisure activity, compared with 14% of non-Twitter social media users.

Additional survey results include:

• 41% of Twitter users prefer to contact friends via social media rather than telephone, compared with 25% of non-Twitter social media users,
• 11%, vs. only 6% of those not using Twitter, actually prefer social media over face-to-face contacts
• 14% of Twitter users said they have revealed things about themselves in social media that they wouldn't under any other circumstances
• 8% admitted to "frequently stretching" the truth about themselves online

Twitter users tend to be older than non-Twitter social media users (54% over 30 years old, vs. 42%),

• They are twice as likely to be self-employed or entrepreneurs (18% vs. 9%)
• 24% vs. 15% "buy gadgets/devices when they first come out,"
• 48% vs. 30% have created a website
• 37% currently maintain a blog, twice as many as non-Twitter social media users

The Crowd Science study was conducted across more than 600,000 visitors to multiple websites between August 5-13, 2009, targeting social media users age 12 and up.

For more information from Crowd Science, please visit here.

Source: Center for Media Research Oct. 7, 2009 Research Brief.