The Social Habit 2014 is derived from The Infinite Dial,
a large-scale research survey of consumer behavior by
Edison Research and Triton Digital.
The Infinite Dial 2014 is the 22nd in this long-running
research series, and the ninth in which Edison has tracked
social media usage and behaviors.
ABOUT THE SOCIAL HABIT 2014
A total of 2,023 persons were interviewed to explore
Americans’ use of digital platforms and new media.
From January 13 to February 12, 2014, telephone interviews
were conducted with respondents age 12 and older who
were selected via Random Digit Dial (RDD) sampling.
The study includes a total of 808 cell phone interviews.
METHODOLOGY
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% Age 12+ Aware of…
Facebook, Twitter Lead in Awareness
93
92
77
71
56
53
50
46
41
36
Facebook
Twitter
MySpace
Instagram
Google+
Snapchat
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Vine
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% Age 12+ Using Each Social Networking Site/Service
Instagram Now Tied For Second in Usage
Ever use Vine
Have personal profile on MySpace
Have personal profile on LinkedIn
Have personal profile on Google+
Ever use Twitter
Have personal account on Instagram
Have Pinboard on Pinterest
Have personal account on Tumblr
Ever use Snapchat
Have personal profile on Facebook 58
17
12
12
15
3
10
14
4
58
19
19
17
16
13
13
10
9
6
2013
2014 N/A
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% Age 12+ Using Each Social Networking Site/Service
Pinterest Dominated by Female Users
54
22
16
20
15
13
4
9
9
5
63
17
23
15
17
15
22
11
9
8
Male
Female Ever use Vine
Have personal profile on MySpace
Have personal profile on LinkedIn
Have personal profile on Google+
Ever use Twitter
Have personal account on Instagram
Have Pinboard on Pinterest
Have personal account on Tumblr
Ever use Snapchat
Have personal profile on Facebook
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
79
3
62
33
80
15
46
35
72
27 24 26
61
26
15 18
51
25
7
12
48
23
4 6
31
9
1 2
0
20
40
60
80
100
Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Google+
Age 12-17 Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 Age 65+
% By Age Group Using Each Social Networking Site/Service
Social Platform Usage by Age
(Page 1 of 3)
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
37
58
13
36
42
19 21
9
19
13
4
15 9
3
14
7
1
11
3 0 3
0
20
40
60
80
100
Twitter Snapchat Pinterest
Age 12-17 Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 Age 65+
% By Age Group Using Each Social Networking Site/Service
Social Platform Usage by Age
(Page 2 of 3)
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
17
40
23 21 22 20 19
10
4 8 4 3 4 2 1 3 2 1 2 0 0
0
20
40
60
80
100
MySpace Vine Tumblr
Age 12-17 Age 18-24 Age 25-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 Age 65+
% By Age Group Using Each Social Networking Site/Service
Social Platform Usage by Age
(Page 3 of 3)
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% Age 12+ Who Ever Had Own Profile on…
MySpace, Facebook Have Most “Quitters”
14
10
2
2
MySpace
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google+
Base: Do Not Currently Have Profile on Social Network
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
How Often Do You Use Social
Networking Websites or Services?
29
47
47
38
29
23
15
9
17
23
21
22
18
12
17
9
14
15
13
12
13
17
16
12
4
5
4
3
5
5
4
4
4
2
4
3
5
4
6
3
30
8
10
21
27
37
38
59
2
1
1
3
2
4
4
All Respondents
Age 12-17
Age 18-24
Age 25-34
Age 35-44
Age 45-54
Age 55-64
Age 65+
Several times a day Nearly every day At least once a week At least once per month Less than once per month Never Don't Know
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“How long have you been a Facebook user?”
Nearly Two-Thirds of Facebook Users have
Used the Service for More than Three Years
< 6 mos.
3%
6 mos. to < 1 yr.
4%
1 yr. to < 2 yrs.
10%
2 yrs. to < 3 yrs.
18%
3 yrs. to < 5 yrs.
31%
5 yrs. or more
33%
Don't Know
1%
Base: Have a Profile on Facebook; Age 12+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“In the last 24 hours, approximately how
many times did you check your Facebook account?”
Most Facebook Users Visit the Service Multiple Times Per Day
Base: Have a Profile on Facebook, Expressing an Opinion
Persons 12+
Mean:
None
24% Once
22%
Twice
13%
3 to 4 times
14%
5 to 10
times
16%
11 or more
times
11%
None
24%
Once
20%
Twice
9%
3 to 4 times
16% 5 to 10
times
13%
11 or more
times
18%
Persons 12-17
Mean:
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
Average Number of Facebook Friends by Age Group
Young Facebook Users Have Lots of Friends
Base: Have a Profile on Facebook
350
521
649
360
277
221
129 103
P12+ 12-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% Age 12+ With a Facebook Profile Accessing Service on a…
Over Two-Thirds of Facebook Users Access
the Service via Mobile Phone
79
68
38
Desktop or laptop computer
Cell phone
Tablet
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% Age 12+ With a Facebook Profile Accessing Service Most…
While Desktop Users Outnumber Mobile Users,
Desktop Usage Lags Behind Mobile Usage
On a desktop or
laptop computer
40%
On a cell phone
48%
On a tablet
9%
Don't Know
3%
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
Better
26%
Worse
36%
About the
same*
38%
“Would you say Facebook has been getting better or getting worse lately?”
More Facebook Users Believe the Service is
Getting Worse Lately than Improving
Better
33%
Worse
37%
About the
same*
30%
Base: Have a Facebook Profile; Expressing an Opinion
*volunteered response
Persons 12+ Persons 12-17
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“How much company, brand or product-related content do you
see in your Facebook news feed now compared to one year ago?”
Facebook Users Perceive Much More
Branded Content Today Than Last Year
A lot more now
43%
A little more
19%
About the same
amount
18%
A little less
5%
A lot less now
3%
Don't Know
12%
Base: Have a Profile on Facebook; Age 12+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
% of Twitter Users Age 12+ Who Use the Service…
More than Four in Ten Twitter Users Visit
the Service Nearly Every Day (or More Often)
Several times
per day
26%
Nearly every day
17%
At least once
a week
30% At least once
per month
14%
Less often than
once per month
11%
Don't Know
2%
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“Do you ever post status updates to Twitter?”
Over One-Third of Twitter Users are Consumers Only
Yes
63%
No
37%
Base: Use Twitter at Least Once Per Month; Age 12+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“How often do you hear about ‘tweets’
through traditional media outlets other than Twitter?”
Almost Half of Americans 12+ Hear about Tweets Daily
Almost every day
47%
Regularly, but not
daily
17% Sometimes
12%
Rarely
6%
Never
7%
Have not heard of
Twitter
8%
Don't Know
3%
Base: Total Population 12+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“Do you follow any companies or brands on any
social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter?”
Over One-Third of Social Media Users Follow Brands
Yes
36%
No
64%
Base: Have Profile on Social Network or Service; Age 12+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“Which one social networking site or service do
you use most to connect with brands or products?”
Facebook Remains the Top Platform for Following Brands
76
10
4
1
1
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Base: Follow Companies or Brands on Any Social Networking Sites; Age 12+
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
61
83
Persons 12+ Frequent Social Networkers
% Who Own a Smartphone
Vast Majority of Frequent Social Media Users Own Smartphones
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
“How often is your cell phone with you or nearby?”
Frequent Social Media Users Nearly Always
Have their Mobile Device Within Arm’s Reach
Always
53% Most of the
time
30%
Sometimes
12%
Rarely
2%
Almost
never
3%
Base: Own Cell Phone or Smartphone; Age 12+
Always
68%
Most of the
time
24%
Sometimes
5%
Rarely
2%
Almost
never
1%
Persons 12+ Frequent Social Networkers
© 2014 Edison Research and Triton Digital
When it comes to political matters,
do you usually think of yourself as a...
28
28
34
32
35
27
26
30
27
29
19
22
16
16
18
19
24
15
22
10
22
28
20
25
24
23
24
18
24
21
16
14
15
15
12
17
14
23
17
24
15
8
15
12
11
14
12
14
10
16
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Google+
Twitter
Snapchat
Pinterest
MySpace
Vine
Tumblr
Democrat Republican Independent Something else Refused
Base: Age 18+
Current Users of:
While Facebook and Twitter remain very popular,
their growth has slowed year-over-year.
A total of 58% of Americans 12+ have a profile
on Facebook, which is unchanged since 2013,
while Twitter is up one percentage point from
15% to 16% of Americans 12+ from 2013 to 2014.
KEY FINDINGS
Facebook has slowed and has younger demographics,
primarily because there is little room for growth.
Approximately 80% of all 12-24s have a profile
on the social network.
KEY FINDINGS
Many of the services that showed the most growth
from 2013 to 2014 are visual social networks,
specifically mobile visual networks.
Instagram is now tied as the second-most popular
social network (with LinkedIn) while Pinterest, Tumblr
and Vine also all showed significant growth.
KEY FINDINGS
Nearly three in ten Americans 12+ indicated that they
not only use social networking sites and services,
but that they use them "several times per day."
The mobile phone is certainly an enabler of this behavior.
While 61% of Americans 12+ own a smartphone, that number
increases to 83% with frequent social media users
(those who use these services "several times per day”).
KEY FINDINGS
In addition, 48% of Facebook users say they access the
service most often via mobile devices, compared to 40%
who say they most often access the service
via a desktop or laptop computer.
KEY FINDINGS
Facebook users are addicted: the average Facebook
user indicated that they checked their Facebook account
times in the last 24 hours.
Teens are even more accustomed to checking Facebook,
with this demo accessing the service an average of
times over the last 24 hours.
KEY FINDINGS
More Facebook users believe the service
is getting worse (36%) than better (26%).
One of the possible drivers may be a perceived
increase in branded content: 43% of Facebook
users say they see "a lot more" content from companies
and brands today than they did one year ago.
KEY FINDINGS
43% of Twitter users access the service at least
"nearly every day," with 26% indicating "several times per day."
More than a third of Twitter users are doing so as consumers only:
37% say they never post status updates to Twitter.
KEY FINDINGS
Twitter certainly punches above its weight in terms
of disseminating information: while the percentage
of Americans 12+ who use Twitter is 16%, over 80%
of Americans say they have heard about a "tweet"
(status update) from Twitter through some other media
outlet (., radio, TV, print, or another website).
Nearly half of Americans (47%) say they hear
about "tweets" nearly every day.
KEY FINDINGS
Over one third of social media users (36%)
say they consciously follow brands or companies
on social media.
Of those consumers, 76% say that Facebook
is their preferred channel for connecting to brands.
KEY FINDINGS
