College students are far more likely to use Twitter than are other segments of the U.S. population: While 8 percent of American adults who go online use the short-burst messaging service, the proportion for full-time or part-time college students who go online is 18 percent.
The numbers come from an extensive survey of Twitter use released on Thursday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which conducted the survey of 2,257 people over 18 years old in November. The nunber of college users was not provided in the report, but Aaron Smith, a senior research specialist at the Pew project, crunched the figures at the request of The Chronicle.
Other groups with above-average Twitter use include “young adults, urbanites, and people of color,” he said.
3 Responses to 18 Percent of College Students Who Go Online Use Twitter
spellettieri - December 10, 2010 at 11:47 am
I doubt they’re using twitter for anything educational though!
numubeta - December 10, 2010 at 4:30 pm
On the contrary! Links to articles, job announcements, course offerings, funding opportunities, networks…all in less than 140 characters.
philostitute - December 12, 2010 at 11:37 am
As a post-doc researcher, I find links, colleagues and new information on twitter efficiently. It is a useful tool. You can run customized searches to find persons with similar research interests and scholars in your discipline. The possibility for instant exchange exists, and hence, twitter can be used to do something worthwhile.