Pew Research Center just came out with their new social media report, Social Media Use in 2018. There are some interesting changes from the last few years.
What has changed?
The percent of U.S. adults using social media sites has changed a bit – it now looks like this:
- 73% Youtube
- 68% Facebook
- 35% Instagram
- 29% Pinterest
- 27% Snapchat
- 25% Linkedin
- 24% Twitter
- 22% WhatsApp
This is the first time that Pew has included Youtube, Snapchat, and WhatsApp in their survey.
Use changes quite a bit with age. For example, adults age 18-24 are using Youtube (94%), Snapchat (74%), Instagram (71%), and Twitter (45%) quite a bit more than older adults.
Another thing Pew discovered – Latinos in the United States are using WhatsApp. That makes sense – it’s popular in Latin America (66% of people in Latin America use it, if I’m reading this right). In the United States, 49% of American Hispanics use it.
What’s this mean for libraries?
- It’s time to get visual. Your customers are watching Youtube videos (and Facebook videos), and enjoy using the very visual Instagram and Snapchat social media channels. Your younger users? Even more of them are using visual tools. You should be there too.
- It’s time to try a new social media tool. Download Snapchat and Instagram, and start getting used to it. You’ll have fun, and well … admit it. You are probably bored with Facebook anyway 🙂
- It’s time to reach new audiences. If you want to reach younger people, you need to use more visual tools. If you want to reach Hispanics in your community, WhatsApp might work. Better yet, start by tailoring your content to a more niche group of people in your service area.
Thoughts on this new report or what it means for your library? Please share!
Image from the Pew Research Twitter account