Research proves class differences on social media
Since social media reproduce or even depict a microcosm of what we call "society", they could not, sooner or later, not incorporate, in addition to its positive characteristics, several of its pathologies. As recent research demonstrates, class differences also exist in social networks, with their main representatives, Facebook and Instagram, proving to be more suitable for different social classes each.
Many reports and surveys, according to which Facebook was losing a large part of its users, were blatantly refuted, with the social platform becoming more and more powerful over the years. A survey by the Pew Research Center, published in New York Mag, confirms that 40% prefer Facebook, while 60% share on other social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr and Vine. The interest of the survey, however, is not the overwhelming percentage that prefers Facebook, but the class issue that arises through this percentage.
As he reports, the majority of teens who use Facebook have a large economic gap from those who prefer Instagram. Specifically, 51%, which concerns families with an annual income of less than $30,000, prefer Facebook, while Instagram and Snapchat have a percentage of 19% and 7%, respectively.
The preference even seems to decrease as income increases. For example, among families with an annual income of over $100,000, Facebook has 31%, Instagram 25% and Snapchat 15%.
At the same time, the survey reports that 9 out of 10 teenagers are online daily, 24% are connected constantly, while only 2% go online once a week. Smartphones have played a decisive role in connecting with social media. 3/4 of teenagers have such a mobile phone, with 81% of black teenagers being connected more often than white and Hispanic teenagers.
Source: newsbeast.gr
