British consumers are among the most avid users of the Internet globally, and the vast majority of them devote a significant portion of their time online to various social sites. In fact, as many as eight in ten UK Internet users have a profile on at least one social media website, according to a new poll by InSites Consulting, quoted by The Drum.
Facebook is the most popular social network, with more than two in three internt users active on the platform. Twitter comes next with 28% of all users, followed by 26% on LinkedIn.
Continuing smartphone adoption is one of the factors that determine increased use of social media. About two thirds of smartphone owners visit social sites at least once a day, compared to less than half of those who possess no such device, figures show.
The poll collected data from 7,827 internet users in 19 countries and found that consumers have profiles on two social sites on average. As many as 95% of respondents claim that they have no intention of abandoning social media on a regular basis, but 60% have no plans to become members of new platforms.
Still, social sites that were considered to be relatively obscure until recently, such as Instagram and Pinterest, are slowly but surely building their user base, with each having about 5% of UK internet users as members.
Researcher Professor Steven Van Belleghem comments that apparently most users are satisfied with the current range of opportunities provided by social media and are comfortable where they are. However, a small proportion of consumers will always strive to be different and this is where innovative networks should look to establish a presence.
80% of UK internet users visit social media sites
