HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
•
FEBRUARY
2013
•
ILLUSTRATIONS BY KYLE HILTON
17
DISPATCHES
In case you missed the tweet: This month sees the return of Social Media Week,
a biannual event celebrating the biggest time-killer in human history. (According
to one estimate, users spend a collective 20,000 years every day on Facebook
alone.) It can be tough, however, to get a sense of who social networkers really
are, given their numbers and their penchant for misinformation and hyperbole.
Here then, based on the most recent data available, is a rough guide.
PROFILE UPDATE
THEY’RE LEGION:
Globally, there are more than 1.4 billion
people using social networking sites
(
most notably Facebook, which boasts
1
billion users).
THEY’REGRAYING
(
BUTONLY INPLACES):
The fastest-growing age group
in social media is 45 to 54,
and more than half of all U.S.
users are in this bracket;
however, about 42 percent of
Bebo’s users (who are largely
U.K.-based) are under 25.
THEYHAVEAMODERATELY
SUNNYOUTLOOK (ESPECIALLY
IFTHEY’RE CHINESE):
79
percent of messages on Sina Weibo
(
a.k.a. China’s Twitter) are happy
or positive, compared with 71 percent
on Twitter.
...
BUTMAYBE
NOT
THAT
SMART:
Nearly one quarter
of American users
admit to lying or
exaggerating on
social networking
websites.
THEY’RE
WELL-OFF:
47
percent of
Facebook users
earn $50,000
to $100,000;
only 13 percent of
Pakistan’s Facebook
users live on less than $260 a
month, compared with 60 percent for
the general population.
THEY’RE
SMART ...
83
percent of
Twitter users
have attended
college.
