Active authors in social media: a study by age group
Public opinion polls in social media have the right to life only when not only the texts of messages are analyzed, but also the socio-demographic characteristics of their authors. It would be wrong to take into account the statements of St. Petersburg residents when studying the problems of Chukotka residents; one cannot take into account the opinions of users older than 45 to get insights about a youth product or the opinions of users under 18 years of age to predict election results. We have already published information about the distribution of active authors in the regions of Russia, and today we will share our new data: under the cut - the first results of a study on the age of active authors of social media.
The advantages of social media research are obvious - no other method allows receiving and processing a volume of hundreds of thousands of messages in real-time mode. In addition, social media messages are practically the only source of information that allows obtaining undistorted views of the population on taboo topics and avoid the influence of the question wording, the interviewer's personality and other factors. It would seem - here it is, a new sociology. But not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance.
In order to obtain qualitative results, you will first have to try to build a sample that should correspond to the structure of the gene. aggregate (target audience). The formation of such samples is possible only if there is data about the authors of messages in social media.
On the one hand, data is available on visitors and registered users of social media. But, on the other hand, these data cannot be extrapolated to active authors. For example, in the social network VKontakte only 11% of visitors are active authors, and for blogs the proportion of active authors rarely exceeds 1%. That is why, obtaining data on the geographical location and age of social media authors is one of the most important tasks of operational sociology.
After analyzing several different ways of obtaining information about the age of the authors, we decided that in this case the most direct way is the most correct one. Therefore, the analysis does not use information from message texts and related profiles, but takes into account only the data that the user himself specifies in the account.
The analysis can be carried out on the entire stream of data that we receive from social media. Thanks to this, we can introduce you to the age groups of users of such social networks as VKontakte, Facebook, LiveJournal and LiveInternet. Unfortunately, there are no data on the age of the authors in the micro-blogging service Twitter.
Considering the sample size and the timing of the study, the results below are relevant and relevant, despite such factors as the absence or indication of knowingly false data about age in the profiles of some authors.
Thus, we investigated the data on the age of social media authors from their profiles and formed statistics on age groups.
The study was conducted from September 1 to September 30, 2013. The sample comprised 300 thousand blog authors and 1 million social network authors on VKontakte and Facebook. Only active authors (i.e., those who published at least one public report during the study period) from Russia were investigated.
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Data on age are present in profiles of 32.66% of active authors.
As it turned out, this is the youngest social network out of all who got into the study: 68% of the VKontakte authors are younger than 24 years old. At the same time, authors over 35 years old are only 8%.
Facebook
Data on age are present in profiles of 6.18% of active authors.
It is worth noting that according to the rules of Facebook, the user himself does not have the right to make profile data (including age) public if he is under 18 years old. Therefore, authors under 18 years old on Facebook - 0%.
Authors from 18 to 24 years old - 48% . It can be assumed that the authors under the age of 18 distort their age for the full use of the network, and also fall into this age group (18-24 years) in the analysis. 33% of the authors of Facebook are over 35 years old, and 29% fall into the age group from 25 to 34 years. Thus, the Facebook contingent is generally older than on the VKontakte social network.
Looking ahead, we note that the authors in social networks in general - younger than in blogs. Most likely, this is due to the age of the social media themselves - Vkontakte and Facebook appeared just as the authors grew up, who are now less than 25 years old and have become mainstream for them. In addition, the format itself implies some stratification by age groups - the generation of “digital native”, as you know, is not inclined not only to write, but also to read voluminous texts, which implies the format of the blogosphere.
Data on age are present in profiles of 24.4% of active authors.
Blog users are expected to be older than social network users. Authors under 24 years old - only 9%. The main core of LiveJournal authors is users aged 25 to 34 years old - 53% . Another 27% of authors fall into the category of 35-44, and 11% - are over 45 years old .
Data on age are present in profiles of 67.26% of active authors.
At the same time, LiveInternet is the only network analyzed by us in which the majority of authors are represented by the older generation: 38% are over 45 years old.
Approximately the same number of authors (22 and 25%) are people aged from 35 to 44, and from 25 to 34, respectively. Users under 24 years old - only 15%.
Bloggers are dinosaurs of Runet, the most adult part of the population of domestic social media. Most of the active authors in blogs are over 25 years old. Actually, these are those who grew up and socialized at a time when social media did not exist. Former fidoshniki, they easily perceive the format of blogs and forums, and much worse - the avian language of social networks. The younger generation, inclined to publish short messages and prioritizing the speed of data exchange, does not favor blogs.
In our next study, we plan to combine data on the age and geographic location of active authors, and analyze the activity of different age groups of users by regions of Russia.
If you have interesting ideas for research, we will be happy to discuss and implement them, as far as we can;)
Problem…
The advantages of social media research are obvious - no other method allows receiving and processing a volume of hundreds of thousands of messages in real-time mode. In addition, social media messages are practically the only source of information that allows obtaining undistorted views of the population on taboo topics and avoid the influence of the question wording, the interviewer's personality and other factors. It would seem - here it is, a new sociology. But not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance.
In order to obtain qualitative results, you will first have to try to build a sample that should correspond to the structure of the gene. aggregate (target audience). The formation of such samples is possible only if there is data about the authors of messages in social media.
On the one hand, data is available on visitors and registered users of social media. But, on the other hand, these data cannot be extrapolated to active authors. For example, in the social network VKontakte only 11% of visitors are active authors, and for blogs the proportion of active authors rarely exceeds 1%. That is why, obtaining data on the geographical location and age of social media authors is one of the most important tasks of operational sociology.
... And the solution
After analyzing several different ways of obtaining information about the age of the authors, we decided that in this case the most direct way is the most correct one. Therefore, the analysis does not use information from message texts and related profiles, but takes into account only the data that the user himself specifies in the account.
The analysis can be carried out on the entire stream of data that we receive from social media. Thanks to this, we can introduce you to the age groups of users of such social networks as VKontakte, Facebook, LiveJournal and LiveInternet. Unfortunately, there are no data on the age of the authors in the micro-blogging service Twitter.
Considering the sample size and the timing of the study, the results below are relevant and relevant, despite such factors as the absence or indication of knowingly false data about age in the profiles of some authors.
Thus, we investigated the data on the age of social media authors from their profiles and formed statistics on age groups.
Data on the age of social media users
The study was conducted from September 1 to September 30, 2013. The sample comprised 300 thousand blog authors and 1 million social network authors on VKontakte and Facebook. Only active authors (i.e., those who published at least one public report during the study period) from Russia were investigated.
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In contact with
Data on age are present in profiles of 32.66% of active authors.
As it turned out, this is the youngest social network out of all who got into the study: 68% of the VKontakte authors are younger than 24 years old. At the same time, authors over 35 years old are only 8%.
Data on age are present in profiles of 6.18% of active authors.
It is worth noting that according to the rules of Facebook, the user himself does not have the right to make profile data (including age) public if he is under 18 years old. Therefore, authors under 18 years old on Facebook - 0%.
Authors from 18 to 24 years old - 48% . It can be assumed that the authors under the age of 18 distort their age for the full use of the network, and also fall into this age group (18-24 years) in the analysis. 33% of the authors of Facebook are over 35 years old, and 29% fall into the age group from 25 to 34 years. Thus, the Facebook contingent is generally older than on the VKontakte social network.
Looking ahead, we note that the authors in social networks in general - younger than in blogs. Most likely, this is due to the age of the social media themselves - Vkontakte and Facebook appeared just as the authors grew up, who are now less than 25 years old and have become mainstream for them. In addition, the format itself implies some stratification by age groups - the generation of “digital native”, as you know, is not inclined not only to write, but also to read voluminous texts, which implies the format of the blogosphere.
Livejournal
Data on age are present in profiles of 24.4% of active authors.
Blog users are expected to be older than social network users. Authors under 24 years old - only 9%. The main core of LiveJournal authors is users aged 25 to 34 years old - 53% . Another 27% of authors fall into the category of 35-44, and 11% - are over 45 years old .
LiveInternet
Data on age are present in profiles of 67.26% of active authors.
At the same time, LiveInternet is the only network analyzed by us in which the majority of authors are represented by the older generation: 38% are over 45 years old.
Approximately the same number of authors (22 and 25%) are people aged from 35 to 44, and from 25 to 34, respectively. Users under 24 years old - only 15%.
Bloggers are dinosaurs of Runet, the most adult part of the population of domestic social media. Most of the active authors in blogs are over 25 years old. Actually, these are those who grew up and socialized at a time when social media did not exist. Former fidoshniki, they easily perceive the format of blogs and forums, and much worse - the avian language of social networks. The younger generation, inclined to publish short messages and prioritizing the speed of data exchange, does not favor blogs.
In our next study, we plan to combine data on the age and geographic location of active authors, and analyze the activity of different age groups of users by regions of Russia.
If you have interesting ideas for research, we will be happy to discuss and implement them, as far as we can;)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/198772/
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