Twitter's popularity still remains low, even among the younger generation, new research suggests.
The report, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, found that only 8 percent of online adults say they use Twitter, with just 2 percent doing so on a typical day. Twitter was slightly more popular with the younger generation, with 14 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds saying they use the microblogging service. Just 7 percent of those age 30 to 49 said they use Twitter, while 10 percent of those over age 50 said they use service. Minorities, those who live in cities, and the college-educated also are slightly more likely than average to use the service, the study found.
Allan Holmes previously blogged about a study by the Participatory Marketing Network that found 22 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds have a Twitter account, compared with 99 percent of that same age group who have a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace. Pew's findings show even less Twitter usage among the younger generation.
What implications do Pew's findings have for the federal government, particularly as the younger twenty-somethings grow older and affect the workplace more? And what does this mean for federal agencies, which are moving quickly to adopt Twitter feeds?
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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