Time Spent On Social Networks Surges

The time that PC users spend on social networks has surged according to Nielsen.

“Americans spend nearly a quarter of the time they’re on the Internet from their PC, or about six hours a month, on social-networking sites and blogs. That’s a quantum leap from a year ago and underscores the growing power of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.”

Web users devoted 23% of their time online to social networking sites, up from 16% a year ago.

The rise in social network activity has also helped multimedia consumption as people recommend content to their friends.

One of the most interesting findings of the Nielsen report is that “Twice as many Americans over 50 visited social networks than people under 18 years old.”

Other results of the study, taken in June is that 10% of people online play online games, eight percent use e-mail, and 4% use instant messaging.

What is not in the study is the effects of the changing habit of online users, both those who are PC-based and those who access the internet over wireless devices. Because there is only so much time that people can spend on the web, social networks are pushing down the time that people spend on web portals and other major sites. That, in turn, hurts the ability of these companies to sell advertising, particularly against relatively new sites and services such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Just as profoundly, those online may be cutting their use of Google and they use search features which work to explore the content on social sites instead of surfing the broader internet.

If time is money, traditional online media is in trouble.

Douglas A. McIntyre