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New Research Shows Facebook Still King Of Social Networks

This article is more than 9 years old.

Facebook is a habit we just can’t quit, as much as we may want to try. From high-profile projects like “99 Days of Freedom” to protests by individual brands, pledges to abstain from Facebook's giant platform tend to get a lot of attention. A new survey from the Pew Research Center found that might be because fulfilling those resolutions is so hard to do.

The survey, which collected data from 1,597 Internet users in September 2014, found that use of Facebook held at a solid 71 percent among online adults in the United States—dwarfing its nearest competitors. LinkedIn and Pinterest each boasted 28 percent usage, and Twitter, the smallest of the big networks, had 23 percent usage.

Engagement with Facebook continued to grow, with 70 percent of users checking in daily—up from 63 percent— and 45 percent making multiple appearances. In comparison, 36 percent of Twitter users are daily users, down from 46 percent in 2013. Daily engagement with LinkedIn was 13 percent, the same as it was a year ago.

While Facebook’s overall usage growth was flat, the network made significant inroads among seniors. “For the first time in Pew Research findings, more than half (56 percent) of Internet users age 65 and old use Facebook,” the researchers wrote. That’s roughly one in three of all older Americans.

While some have claimed that younger American’s may be leaving Facebook, the Pew Researchers found they are not leaving the Facebook family. Half of Internet-using adults between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram (53 percent), which is owned by Facebook, and 49 percent log in daily. These results echo the findings of other reports that found Instagram was the top network for teens.

Here's what Facebook's own Audience Insights says about its usage demographic in the United States:

18 to 24 years old—40 to 45 million active monthly users

25 to 34 years old—45 to 50 million active monthly users

35 to 54 years old—60 to 70 million active monthly users

55 to 65 years old—20 to 25 million active monthly users

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