US web surfers age 12-17 who visit both MySpace and Facebook spend more time at each site than teens who use just one of the sites, according to (pdf) Nielsen/NetRatings. Moreover, Facebook’s teen demo itself has been increasing faster than the site’s average growth rate.
According to the data:
- In August, teens who visited both MySpace and Facebook spent on average 20% more time on MySpace than those who visit MySpace alone.
- Facebook benefited to an even greater degree from dual visitors, who spent on average 26% longer at the site than those who visit Facebook exclusively.
- Teens tend to spend, on average, significantly more time on MySpace than Facebook.
“Teens who enjoy social media are intensive users and highly engaged. They are venturing onto multiple networks to experience new features and broaden their connections,” said Jason Lee, media analyst, Nielsen/NetRatings.
Growth of the 12-17 Demographic at Facebook
Since Facebook’s registration was opened to the public last year, the site has undergone triple-digit traffic growth – 117% – from 8.9 million unique visitors in August 2006 to 19.2 million unique visitors in August 2007.
The growth rate among visitors 12-17 has been even higher, increasing 122% year over year. The majority of these new Facebook visitors are not likely social networking novices – more than 80% of these Facebook visitors in August also went to MySpace.
“MySpace introduced a lot of people, especially young people, to social networking, and that forum continues to be overwhelmingly popular,” said Lee. “But Facebook’s innovative features, many born out of partnerships with third-party developers, are driving user growth…. At this point, each site has a unique offering, and teens are happily visiting both.”
