Americans Spend 25% of Their Online Time With Using Social Media (2011)

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The next time you pull up your Twitter feed or log-in to Facebook, take a look at the clock. Chances are you’re spending way more time on Social Media sites than you realize. According to Nielsen‘s 2010 “State of the Media: The Social Media Report” that was released yesterday, social networks account for 22.5% of the time that Americans spend online. Some other noteworthy findings from the report include:

• At over 53 billion minutes in May 2011, Americans spend more time on Facebook than on any other website.
• Females and 18-34-year-olds are the most active social network users.
• Nearly 40% of social media users access the networks via mobile devices.
• Users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social sites through the mobile Internet.
• Across a selection of 10 global markets, social networks and blogs are the top destinations online.
• Women watch more video clips on blogs and social media channels than men.
• Men spend more time watching video content than women.
• Tumblr has almost tripled its audience from a year ago.

Nielsen Recognizes The Importance Of Social Media

Also of note, is the report itself. Nielsen has traditionally just provided information on old media (have you heard of this thing called “television” yet?). But the “State of the Media: The Social Media Report” shows how Nielsen is starting to evolve and pay attention to Social Media. What’s next? Who knows, maybe they’ll attempt to claim their name on Twitter. @Nielsen is currently being squatted by someone named “mette haxthausen” who hasn’t tweeted yet.