MAY 31, 2012 Twitter Use 2012 Overall adoption remains steady, but “typical day” usage continues to grow8% of online adults now use Twitter on a typical day. African-Americans, young adults, and mobile users stand out for their high rates of Twitter usage. Aaron Smith Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet Project Joanna Brenner Web Coordinator, Pew Internet Project Pew Research Centers Internet 18-24 year olds represent 16% of the adult internet user population. pewinternet.org 5 “Typical day” Twitter use by age, 2010-2012 % of internet users in each group who use Twitter on a typical day November 2010 May 2011 February 2012 All adults 2% 4% 8% 18-24 4 9 20 25-34 5 5 11 35-44 2 6 9 45-54 2 3 3 55-64 1 2 4 65+ 1 1 1 Sources: Pew Research Centers Internet the results here have been recalculated based on all cell owners. pewinternet.org 6 As with our general Twitter usage findings, cell owners ages 18-24 are more likely than older cell owners to use Twitter within the context of their mobile devicesfully one in five 18-24 year old cell owners (22%) use Twitter on their phones, and 15% do so on a typical day. African Americans and Latinos (both of whom have high rates of smartphone ownership) also stand out as heavy mobile Twitter users. Who uses Twitter on a cell phone? % of adult cell owners in each group who use Twitter on their phones All cell owners (n=1954) 9% Men (n=895) 9 Women (n=1059) 9 Age 18-24 (n=225) 22* 25-34 (n=230) 14 35-44 (n=276) 9 45-54 (n=371) 5 55-64 (n=387) 3 65+ (n=429) 1 Race/ethnicity White, Non-Hispanic (n=1404) 7 Black, Non-Hispanic (n=234) 17* Hispanic (n=180) 12* Annual household income Less than $30,000/yr (n=447) 7 $30,000-$49,999 (n=316) 12 $50,000-$74,999 (n=272) 11 $75,000+ (n=538) 9 Education level No high school diploma (n=156) 10 High school grad (n=542) 6 Some College (n=490) 9 College + (n=752) 11 Geographic location Urban (n=557) 10 Suburban (n=993) 9 Rural (n=316) 6 Source: Pew Research Centers Internet RANDOMIZE? / Did you happen to do this yesterday, or not? Based on all internet users N=1,729 TOTAL HAVE EVER DONE THIS - DID YESTERDAY HAVE NOT DONE THIS DONT KNOW REFUSED Use Twitter Current 15 8 85 * 0 August 2011 12 5 88 * 0 May 2011 13 4 87 * 0 January 2011 10 n/a 90 * * December 2010 12 n/a 88 * 0 November 2010 8 2 92 0 * This report is based on the findings of a survey on Americans use of the Internet. The results in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International from January 20 to February 19, 2012, among a sample of 2,253 adults, age 18 and older. Telephone interviews were conducted in English and Spanish by landline (1,352) and cell phone (901, including 440 without a landline phone). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. For results based Internet users (n=1,729), the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting telephone surveys may introduce some error or bias into the findings of opinion polls. A combination of landline and cellular random digit dial (RDD) samples was used to represent all adults in the continental United States who have access to either a landline or cellular telephone. Both samples were provided by Survey Sampling International, LLC (SSI) according to PSRAI specifications. Numbers for the landline sample were selected with probabilities in proportion to their share of listed telephone households from active blocks (area code + exchange + two-digit block number) that contained three or more residential directory listings. The cellular sample was not list-assisted, but was drawn through a pewinternet.org 8 systematic sampling from dedicated wireless 100-blocks and shared service 100-blocks with no directory-listed landline numbers. New sample was released daily and was kept in the field for at least five days. The sample was released in replicates, which are representative subsamples of the larger population. This ensures that complete call procedures were followed for the entire sample. At least 7 attempts were made to complete an interview at a sampled telephone number. The calls were staggered over times of day and days of the week to maximize the chances of making contact with a potential respondent. Each number received at least one daytime call in an attempt to find someone available. For the landline sample, interviewers asked to speak with the youngest adult male or female currently at home based on a random rotation. If no male/female was available, interviewers asked to speak with the youngest adult of the other gender. For the cellular sample, interviews were conducted with the person who answered the phone. Interviewers ver