Social Networking Statistics

Social networking statistics have grown even more interesting in recent years with the increasing popularity of networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace. Some of these statistics may shock you, but it is important to see them in action so that you know about the people you are interacting with on these sites. With this in mind, here are some of the statistics that you should know about:

1. Approximately 72 percent of the population has a social networking profile. Out of these people nearly half of them (47 percent) say that their profile is public. This means that it can be viewed by anyone.
2. Approximately 76 percent of teens are somewhat concerned about what they post publicly. They say that it could possibly have a negative impact upon their future. Out of this group, 26 percent of teens know someone who has had something bad happen to them. They say that this is because of the photos or information that they have publicly posted online.
3. Children begin using social networking sites as early as fourth grade. They are known to post personal information about themselves that could be exploited. This includes their personal interests, physical activities and real name. Some even posted about their school, home address, phone number and personal pictures.
4. The largest social networking site is Facebook. There are currently over 500 million users on this site. In comparison, Twitter has 75 million users and LinkedIn has 60 million users.
5. Social networking is mainly done by mobile phone. In fact, this is the way in which 91 percent of people access these sites. Only 79 percent of people use their computer to access these sites.