Social Networks Aging; MySpace Matures from Under 25 to Over 35
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| Source: comScore Media Metrix | Aug-05 |
Aug-06 |
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Unique Visitors |
21.8 million |
55.8 million |
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Total Audience (%) |
100.0 |
100.0 |
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Persons: 12-24 |
44.3 |
30.0 |
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Persons: 25-34 |
10.4 |
16.7 |
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Persons: 35+ |
39.5 |
51.6 |
MySpace:
% Composition comScore analysis demonstrates that each site occupies a slightly different niche:
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MySpace.com has the broadest appeal across age ranges,
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Facebook.com has created a niche among the college crowd,
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Friendster.com attracts a higher percentage of adults, and
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Xanga.com is most popular among younger teens.
This analysis confirms that the appeal of social networking sites is far broader than the misconception that social networking is the exclusive domain of teenagers.
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Source: comScore Media Metrix |
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Percent (%) Composition of Unique Visitors - Aug'06 |
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Total Internet |
MySpace.com |
Facebook.com |
Friendster.com |
Xanga.com |
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Unique Visitors (000) |
173,407 |
55,778 |
14,782 |
1,043 |
8,066 |
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Total Audience |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
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Persons: 12-17 |
9.6 |
11.9 |
14.0 |
10.6 |
20.3 |
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Persons: 18-24 |
11.3 |
18.1 |
34.0 |
15.6 |
15.5 |
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Persons: 25-34 |
14.5 |
16.7 |
8.6 |
28.2 |
11.0 |
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Persons: 35-54 |
38.5 |
40.6 |
33.5 |
34.5 |
35.6 |
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Persons: 55+ |
18.0 |
11.0 |
7.6 |
8.1 |
7.3 |
An analysis of visitors to MySpace.com shows that as the site has experienced dramatic visitor growth, it has become more popular among older Internet users. The most significant shift has occurred among teens 12-17, who accounted for 24.7 percent of the MySpace audience in August 2005, but today represent a much lower 11.9 percent of the site’s total audience. Conversely, Internet users between the ages of 35-54 now account for 40.6 percent of the MySpace visitor base, an 8.2 percentage point increase during the past year.
