Social Media Use Becomes Pervasive

New research shows that social media use has become a regular habit for three quarters of the online population.
 
In a survey of 1,700 U.S. Internet users, Nielsen Online found that 73 percent engaged in social media at least once per week. Engagement was defined as reading a blog, visiting a social network or reading (and/or commenting on) a message board. The research pegs the total U.S. social media audience at 127 million.
 
The Nielsen study, commissioned by women-focused blog network BlogHer and NBCU’s iVillage, found that Facebook is becoming a major attraction for a broad swathe of the population, rivaling the reach of traditional media channels.