A recent study conducted by Nielsen Claritas, a market research company, has determined that there is a socio-economical divide between users of social networking sites. Here are some statistics from the article:
Users earning over $100,000/year:
38% LinkedIn
23% Facebook
16% MySpace
Users earning less than $50,000/year:
28% Facebook
37% MySpace
Demographics:
Users part of more affluent demographics: 25% more likely to be on Facebook
Users part of less affluent demographics: 37% more likely to be on MySpace
MySpace users: middle-class, blue-collar neighborhoods; perhaps not college educated
Facebook users: upscale suburubs
Different explanations have been offered for these statistics. The first is that there was a “movement” from MySpace to Facebook consisting mostly of educated and upper-class users. Someone was quoted in the article saying she doesn’t use MySpace because it “is ghetto.” Another blogger writes that users choose which social networking site to be a part of based on interests: those interested in music “will still be on MySpace” and those interested in applications use Facebook more. A third suggestion is that who uses which site has to do with how the site began: Facebook was started at Harvard and initially limited its users to college students, while MySpace has always been open to everyone. The article also discusses users self-segregation as an issue on social networks. The study found that multiracial students had more Facebook friends than students of other backgrounds, and that they were the “sole connection between white and black circles.” An ethnographer in the article shares her concern about the repercussions of dividing ourselves online. She poses the question, “What happens when politicians go on Facebook and think they’re reaching the whole public? What happens when colleges only go to Facebook to promote?”
Source: CNN
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