Social media is part of people’s everyday routines because it helps them build a community with others around the world. And this community-building happens at a worker-bee pace—30 percent of social media users interact on social media at least 10 times per day by either liking, sharing, or posting content, according to a new survey from business news and how-to website The Manifest.
“Social media has become ingrained in our day-to-day lives,” said Charlotte Chipperfield, founder and CEO of Chipperfield Media, in a news release. “We use it for more than just sharing personal updates. It’s a way of building a community around our shared interests.”
People prefer to post images on social media
People clearly want others to see their photos and memes—images are the only content type that more than half of social media users regularly post.
Nearly 70 percent of users post images, compared to 47 percent who post updates/announcements, 46 percent who post videos, and 42 percent who post opinions.
Images are popular because they are most likely to capture people’s attention.
“Nowadays, people are in a very fast-paced environment [and] want to consume the most amount of information as quickly as possible, so photography can help that,” photographer Pedro Kin said, in the release. “Not many people will stop and read a post.”
People are most likely to post images on social media, followed by updates and videos, according to a new survey from The Manifest.
Nearly half of social media users post content daily
Although interacting with other people’s content is important to most social media users, nearly all (94 percent) post their own content, including 42 percent who do so at least once a day.
Social media lets people interact beyond their immediate surroundings.
“The average person living in a suburb could live on a little street with very little exposure to the outside world but have a community of thousands of people on social media who are engaged with their posts,” said Joseph Rothstein, account manager at Social Media 55, in the release.
Facebook remains popular
Reports that people have stopped using Facebook are premature—Facebook is still the most-used social media channel.
More than half (52 percent) of people use Facebook the most compared to other social media platforms—more than three times the number of people who most often use YouTube (16 percent) and Instagram (14 percent).
Even the most ardent Facebook fans, however, may be spending less time per visit on Facebook because they are visiting other channels.
“Even if people are still clicking on the app or going to Facebook.com on their browser the most, the amount of time they spend on the platform has decreased,” said Andrew Selepak, graduate director of the social media department at the University of Florida, in the release. “If I watch a 20-minute YouTube video, I’m probably not spending a 20-minute block on Facebook.”
The Manifest’s 2019 Consumer Social Media Survey included 627 people in the U.S. who use social media at least once per week.
