Twitter and life

Just over half of social media users (53%) have a Twitter account and most (67%) have had it for more than 3 years, according to the survey.

Have Twitter account?	Percent
Yes	53%
No	47%

Data Source: Question: Do you have a Twitter account? (Base: Social Media Users, N=1000)

American Press Institute, DB5 and Twitter

Length of time	Percent
Within the last year	10%
1 to 2 years ago	22%
3 to 5 years ago	46%
More than 5 years ago	21%

Data Source: Question: When did you first join Twitter? (Base: Twitter Users N=3713, asked between Nov. 23 and Dec. 15, 2014)

American Press Institute, DB5 and Twitter

An even wider world of people encounter Twitter without using it. Of all Twitter users, 68% see hashtags and Twitter handles or tweets displayed on TV, 61% in news stories, 52% from people reading tweets on TV. 40% hear about Twitter from friends and 28% on billboards, bus signs and elsewhere.

Where seen	Percent
I see hashtags, Twitter handles, the Twitter logo, or tweets on TV	68%
I see news stories that reference or display tweets	61%
I notice people on TV and radio reading or showing tweets on screen	52%
From friends or family talking about Twitter	40%
I see billboards, bus signs or other displays with hashtags, Twitter handles, the Twitter logo, or tweets	28%
Other	4%
None of the above	9%

Data Source: Regardless of how you use Twitter yourself, which of the following ways do you come across references to or information from Twitter? (Base: Twitter Users N=3713)

American Press Institute, DB5 and Twitter

These are noticed by non-Twitter social media users too. Fully 51% of non-Twitter users have seen Tweets — 45% on TV, 33% from friends, 27% in news articles they read digitally, 22% from going to twitter.com without signing up, 12% from search and 8% in the newspaper.

Where seen	Percent
On TV	45%
A friend showed me one	33%
In an ews article online	27%
On Twitter.com even though I’m not signed up	22%
When I did a search	12%
In a newspaper	8%
Other	8%
None of the above	2%

Data Source: Have you ever seen a Tweet / Where do you remember seeing it? (Base: Non-Twitter Social Media Users N=469, Have Ever Seen a Tweet N=239)

American Press Institute, DB5 and Twitter

Demographics

Twitter users tend to be younger than the average social media user. The average age is 36, according to the study, while overall social media users are 46 (28% of Twitter users are between the ages of 18-24 years old vs. 10% of overall social media users). A quarter of the Twitter sample have children (22%), compared with 34% for social media users in the panel in general, which reflects the younger average age. The majority have college degrees (57%) compared with 40% of social media users generally in the panel.

How Twitter users compare to other social media users

	Twitter	Social media users
Male	53%	48%
Female	47%	52%
Average age	36	46
Single	49%	28%
Married	37%	46%
Have children under age 18 in household	22%	34%
Have a college degree or higher	57%	40%

American Press Institute, DB5 and Twitter

Twitter users are more likely to own smartphones (92% of those with cell phones have smartphones) than social media users overall (79%), but they are no more likely to own tablets (54% vs. 54%).