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More over-25s logging on to social networking sites
Ben Bailey06.08.09
Social networking sites are increasingly becoming an older generations domain, while interest among younger people could be on the wane, a report suggested today.
Ofcom's Communications Market Report 2009 found the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds who said they had a social networking site profile grew by six percentage points in the space of a year to 46%.
Figures have also risen in the 35 to 54-year-old age group, with 35% having a profile.
But the proportion of 15 to 24-year-olds claiming to have a profile dropped from 55% to 50% over the space of a year, from the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009.
The data did not include children under the age of 15, who Ofcom said are a "substantial" proportion of users.
Researchers also found the proportion of the AB socio-economic group saying they have a profile has risen from 29% to 35% over a year, while there was a sharp drop in DEs from 32% to 19%.
The report also looked at the continued success of websites such as Facebook and YouTube - along with microblogging site Twitter, which reaches 2.6 million users.
Ofcom said one reason for Twitter's "almost overnight growth" at the start of 2009 could be the ditching of a plane in the Hudson River in New York.
A photograph of the plane in the river was posted on the site by a bystander.
Britain's Got Talent, whose runner-up Susan Boyle became an internet sensation, was YouTube's most popular channel in the UK, receiving 218 million views, according to statistics taken in June 2009.
Former X Factor winner Leona Lewis was the next most popular, with 211 million views.
The BBC's iPlayer audience showed a drop in share for the 55-plus age group, from 21% in the first quarter of 2008 to 16% in the second quarter of 2009.
Otherwise, the age profiles have not changed significantly since the launch of the service, the report said.
Ofcom also cited research into illegal content sharing.
Among those who have ever accessed unauthorised content, the main method used for both video and audio is copying physical discs, followed by file-sharing, the report found.
Two-thirds of 15 to 24-year-olds surveyed thought that downloading music for free is "morally acceptable".
Since March 2009, legal music streaming website Spotify has enjoyed a rapid ascent, growing at an average rate of 25% per month and having nearly one million UK users by June.
Reader views (2)
The reason why younger people are moving away from sites like facebook is the problem with hackers on these sites and the lack of response by them to sort the problem out.
- David, london
Give much credit to the young peeps - they sussed out that Gormless Brown was hijacking the social networking sites and they deserted muito pronto!
Ha! Ha! Gormless is a loser.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK
