Gen Y Not Into Twitter

Members of Generation Y are extremely active on social networking sites, but far fewer are interested in Twitter, according to a recent study.

The Participatory Marketing Network (PMN), a marketing group, released results of its study on Wednesday. It found that just 22% of Generation Y consumers use Twitter. The Lubin School of Business' Interactive and Direct Marketing Lab at Pace University helped conduct the study, which surveyed 200 PMN panel members in May and consumers from ages 18 to 24.

It found that 99% of Generation Y consumers maintain active profiles on at least one social networking site.

"Twitter dominates the news, but clearly we're only touching the surface of its potential as a marketing vehicle," Michael Della Penna, co-founder and executive chairman of PMN, said in a statement released Wednesday. "This is a classic 'glass half full’ scenario for Twitter because it's clear that Gen Y has an appetite for social networking, but still hasn't fully embraced microblogging. There is a tremendous opportunity now for marketers to develop strategies to get this important group active on Twitter too."

Of those who use Twitter, 85% follow friends, 54% follow celebrities, and 29% follow friends and companies. Of those with active social networking site profiles, 89% said they have downloaded an application to their profile page. Eighty-nine percent said they use photo applications, while 53% said they use applications for games. Fifty-one percent said they use social networking site applications for entertainment, while 32% use them for news and 29% said they use them for weather.

Among social networking site users, 38% have an iPhone or iPod Touch. The most popular applications on those sites are games (53%) and entertainment (35%).

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