Social media reports come in all shapes and sizes.
- Demographic use
- Marketing trends
- Influence on politics
If you’re like me, you find them mildly interesting, but seldom eye-opening.
Pew Research Center markets itself as a non-partisan, nonprofit “fact tank.” They have published several reports on social media.
A recent report, The Demographics of Social Media Users – 2012, left me scratching my head.
Missing Link
Researchers generated the report from a survey of nearly 2,300 U.S. adults, conducted in the latter part of 2012.
It shared the demographics of social media users for various platforms.
Results showed the following.
- Facebook – 67 percent use Facebook
- Twitter – 16 percent
- Pinterest – 15 percent
- Instagram – 13 percent
- Tumblr – 6 percent
My initial response was – where’s LinkedIn? What about Google+?
Last time I checked, the two platforms had significant membership.
Questions
The answers were found in the survey questions.
Researchers asked survey participants if they used any of the following.
- A social networking site like Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+
- Tumblr
Ah, there’s LinkedIn and Google+ - lumped in with Facebook.
Putting the Pieces Together
So, how is it that they have a 67 percent figure for Facebook if the survey question combined Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+?
Turns out, they got the Facebook percentage from a separate survey and report, Coming and Going on Facebook.
Then I found Social Networking (full detail) online that shared ~
20% of online adults say they use LinkedIn as of August 2012.
- So, why didn’t that make the list?
- And I guess Google+ is out-of-luck
- No separate reports (that I found)
Why create a list of social network site use and leave off two of the biggest platforms?
I’m no statistician. I can barely pronounce the word.
Is it just me? Or does the purpose of this report leave you scratching your head?
One good outcome – this gives me the perfect opportunity to share (once again) one of my favorite Mark Twain quotes.
“There are three kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review
Then again – maybe I have too much time on my hands.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, that quote again, Cathy!
It certainly makes it look like they are deliberately trying to skew the results.
Sharon Hurley Hall recently posted..Wrapping Up 2012: Q4 Blogging Highlights
At least I waited a little while before using it, Sharon.
I don’t know why they showed the results the way they did. It seems each report does its own thing, making it difficult to make comparisons.
Cathy, it does sound like the Pew Research Center botched this study. I use both LinkedIn and Google+.
I’m actually not a fan of “lies, damed lies, and statistics” quote. It is appropriate in some cases, but too often it’s used by people who either want to dismiss statistical results or don’t understand them.
John Soares recently posted..50 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block and Procrastination: A Free Special Report
I’m the 1st to admit that I don’t always understand statistics, John. But, I do like the quote to use as an example of how often numbers can be manipulated in a way to show a result that may or may not be valid.
But, I always appreciate a different point of view – especially from someone who I am sure does understand statistics.
Thanks for presenting another side, John.
That has me scratching my head too, Cathy. How can the others even compare if the top three are lumped together like that?
Alas, I don’t use Facebook for promotion. I do use Google+ occasionally, but it’s not my favorite. Twitter and LinkedIn tie for favorite.
Lori recently posted..4 Ways to Start Promoting This Week
I don’t use Facebook either for promotion (beyond a networked blog posting). I have dropped out of sight with Google+ and simply don’t know what (if anything) I want to do about it.
Thanks for weighing in with your thoughts, Lori.
Thanks for revealing the sneaky little details that get missed.
The problem with statistics is 49% of them are made up and there’s a 51% chance of error.
Darnell Jackson recently posted..5M 003: 3rd straight week in the GREEN: Increased Avg. Visit Duration, Pages / Visit, and Bounce Rate.
LOL, Darnell.
Thanks for sharing the facts. 
Love the post and the comments, folks. I love Pew research; it’s fun to see I’m not the only Pew geek out there. Hmmm. “Glee” lovers are “gleeks,” but somehow “Peeks” has some…possibly inappropriate connotations.
Jodi McMaster recently posted..Poetry vexes me
Hi Jodi: I have quoted Pew reports quite a few times here and on other blogs. They seemed to miss the boat a bit on this one. I was toying with the idea of a headline of Pew Pooh-poohs LinkedIn, but decided against it.
Thanks for stopping by, Jodi.
Very interesting, Cathy. This underscores why I hate questionnaires that lump social media into one big thing. I use LinkedIn and Google+ but not Facebook. (What can I say? I like to buck trends.) Yet had I participated in that survey, the results would have lumped me in with Facebook users – and artificially inflating the percentage of people assumed to be using Facebook.
Still, the bigger issue to me is how a sampling of 2,300 people can claim to reflect the entire US adult population. Numerically speaking, it’s like basing an entire city’s “opinion” on that of one person who lives there….Then again, I’m not a statistician.
See, this is why I like you, Paula.
I hate following the crowd, too. And I won’t touch the statistics part. While I managed a course in college, the minute I walked out the door, it was all gone – statistically speaking. 