By Jon Priestley

More than half (55 per cent) of the UK’s pensionable population use Facebook regularly, as the use of social media was now shown to be endemic in the UK. PR and social media agency Umpf issued findings of its research, conducted amongst nearly 2,400 UK adults, which showed how distinct groups are now emerging in the UK’s social networking landscape.

Three-quarters (77 per cent) of the UK’s 48.6million-strong* adult population confirmed they had an active Facebook profile, equating to an estimated 37.4 million live accounts. Nearly one-third (32 per cent or 15.5 million) also claimed to use Twitter regularly.

Location based platforms, such as Foursquare, were used by 15 per cent of UK adults, equating to 7.2 million people, with a similar number also making use of photo-sharing platform Flickr (6.7 million) and professional network LinkedIn (7.9 million).

Men and women were found to favour different platforms, with nearly twice as many men than women having an active LinkedIn account; 22 per cent as opposed to 13 per cent. What’s more, of those with a profile, 28 per cent of men checked theirs at least once a day, compared with just 14 per cent of women.

Facebook, clearly emerging as the UK’s most popular social networking site, with 77 per cent of all UK residents having an active profile, was used by 80 per cent of women, but a significantly lower 72 per cent of men.

Divides emerged based on age as well, with nearly all (95 per cent) of 18 – 25s having an active Facebook profile, with this figure dropping significantly to 55 per cent of over 65s. LinkedIn bucked the trend of social media platforms being most popular amongst the 18 – 24 year old age bracket, however.

Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of all 25 – 34-year-olds have an active Linked in profile, but just 14 per cent of under 24s, demonstrating the platform’s success in attracting more mature users keen to further their careers and connect on a professional level.

Whilst social media usage was distinctly lower amongst those of pensionable age, more than half actively used Facebook and more than two-thirds were regularly using and viewing YouTube.

The survey, which was conducted by polling agency Your Say Pays amongst 2,387 UK adults in July, asked how frequently respondents used a selection of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube and location based platforms such as Foursquare.

Geographically, the South West counted the highest percentages of residents using Facebook and Twitter across the UK, with those living in Northern Ireland having the lowest average usage of social media platforms. Just six per cent of those living in the region had an active Linkedin profile, contrasting with one in five of those in the South East.

However, Northern Ireland saw the highest percentages of those using YouTube, with three quarters of all those surveyed stating that they frequently used the video sharing site, as opposed to just 59 per cent of those in the South West. On average, the South East boasted the highest numbers of people using social media platforms.

This research clearly shows how endemic social media use is in the UK, with clear adoption of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter amongst all age groups. With more than half of all over 65s using Facebook regularly, social media is clearly no longer the preserve of the tech-savvy under 30s.

The social media landscape is changing rapidly and gender divides are starting to become apparent, with men clearly favouring YouTube and LinkedIn, but women opting to use Facebook as their chosen medium of communication.

Our research clearly shows how geography is playing a key role in social media adoption, with distinct geographical areas beginning to favour different social media platforms to communicate with their networks.

For more information and for full survey results, please visit www.umpf.co.uk.

Note

*Statistic for UK adult (over 18 years old) population – 48,646,000 (source – ONS, 10.08.11).

About the author

Jon Priestley is account manager at PR and Social Media agency Umpf.