75% Of U.S. Households Use Social Networking

A Nielsen study shows Internet users spent an average of more than 6 hours a month on sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter during May.

U.S. consumers are spending more time online -- and devoting a growing percentage of those hours to social networking sites -- a trend expected to create a surge in spending on advertising to this audience.

In May 2010, U.S. consumers spent an average of 6 hours, 13 minutes a month using social networking websites, according to a study by the Nielsen Company. And users did not restrict themselves to checking their status while at home: the average U.S. worker spent almost 5.5 hours each month visiting social network sites from the office, the research firm found.

Of all active U.S. Internet households, 75% visited a social networking site in May 2010, according to Nielsen. About one-fifth of U.S. adults online publish or own a blog, and 55% have at least one or more social networking profiles, the report said.

Twenty percent of those surveyed frequently provide advice about movies; 18% share their opinions about TV shows and 16% often advise others about music, Nielsen said.

Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/storage/virtualization/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225700333