Engaging with social networking sites

Social networking sites offer people new and varied ways to communicate via the internet, whether through their PC or their mobile phone. Examples include MySpace, Facebook and Bebo. They allow people to easily and simply create their own online page or profile and to construct and display an online network of contacts, often called friends. Users of these sites can communicate via their profile both with their friends and with people outside their list of contacts. The rapid growth of social networking sites in recent years indicates that they are now a mainstream communications technology for many people.
Social networking sites are most popular with teenagers and young adults

Ofcom research shows that just over one fifth (22%) of adult internet users aged 16+ and almost half (49%) of children aged 8-17 who use the internet have set up their own profile on a social networking site. (-1-). For adults, the likelihood of setting up a profile is highest among 16-24 year olds (54%) and decreases with age. (-2-)
Some under-13s are by-passing the age restrictions on social networking sites

Despite the fact that the minimum age for most major social networking sites is usually 13 (14 on MySpace), 27% of 8-11 year olds who are aware of social networking sites say that they have a profile on a site. While s ome of these younger users are on sites intended for younger children, the presence of underage users on social networking sites intended for those aged 13 or over was also confirmed by qualitative research conducted by Ofcom.
The average adult social networker has profiles on 1.6 sites, and most users check their profile at least every other day

Adult social networkers use a variety of sites, with the main ones being Bebo, Facebook and MySpace. It is common for adults to have a profile on more than one site - on average each adult with a social networking page or profile has profiles on 1.6 sites, and 39% of adults have profiles on two or more sites. Half of all current adult social networkers say that they access their profiles at least every other day. The site people choose to use varies depending on the user. Children are more likely to use Bebo (63% of those who have a social networking site profile), and the most popular site for adults is Facebook (62% of those who have a social networking profile). There is also a difference between socio-economic groups: ABC1s with a social networking profile were more likely to use Facebook than C2DEs, who were more likely to have a profile on MySpace.

Two-thirds of parents claim to set rules on their childs use of social networking sites, although only 53% of children said that their parents set such rules

For many children, the rules and restrictions that their parents set on social networking site usage are an important influencing factor in the childs use of social networking sites. Two-thirds of parents whose children have a social networking page say they set rules on their childs use of these sites. Most commonly these concerned meeting new people online and giving out personal details. However, significantly fewer children (53% of those with social networking profiles) say that their parents set rules on their use of these sites.

Attitudes and behaviours towards social networking sites

Social networkers fall into distinct groups

Social networkers differ in their attitudes to social networking sites and in their behaviour while using them. Ofcoms qualitative research indicates that site users tend to fall into five distinct groups based on their behaviours and attitudes. These are as follows:

Alpha Socialisers (a minority) people who used sites in intense short bursts to flirt, meet new people, and be entertained. Attention Seekers (some) people who craved attention and comments from others, often by posting photos and customising their profiles. Followers (many) people who joined sites to keep up with what their peers were doing. Faithfuls (many) people who typically used social networking sites to rekindle old friendships, often from school or university. Functionals (a minority) people who tended to be single-minded in using sites for a particular purpose.

Non-users of social networking sites also fall into distinct groups

Non-users also appear to fall into distinct groups; these groups are based on their reasons for not using social networking sites:

Concerned about safety people concerned about safety online, in particular making personal details available online. Technically inexperienced people who lack confidence in using the internet and computers. Intellectual rejecters people who have no interest in social networking sites and see them as a waste of time.