You could pretty much guess that college students make up a big part of the buzz around social media these days. How often are they actually using social networking?
In a recent EDUCAUSE study which compared compared social network usage at 44 colleges and universities in 2006, 2007 and 2008, they found that it’s an everyday activity for the majority of college students. The study also showed that the percentage of students who use the networks daily has nearly doubled in the past two years. It found that nearly twice as many students use social networks every day in 2008 (59%) than did in 2006 (33%). Accordingly, the percentage of students who said they never use social networks has fallen from 25% in 2006 to 11% in 2008.
Much of the usage of social network sites is coming from the youngest college students. According to EDUCAUSE, 57.5% of students ages 18 and 19 use the sites at least 6 hours per week, compared with 38% of students ages 20 to 24.
What exactly are these students using social networking for? Social networks are a constant presence in the lives of students—a way to check in with friends, play games and plan events. They also provide an outlet for self-expression and sharing.
Among students surveyed by Youth Trends, 79% said they used social media to catch up with friends and family. Females were more likely than males to have updated their profile in the past month, as well as to share photos or add applications to their profile page.
Please click here to download the plugin required to make recent comments work!