Twitter Users Young, Mobile

If you're still wondering, "Why Twitter?" you're probably over 35 years old. The survey of 2,253 online respondents found that nearly 20 percent of adults ages 18 to 34 years old have used so-called micro-blogging sites, of which Twitter is the best known. But the over-35 group are not Twitterers. Only 10 percent of those 35-44 years old use the services and a scant 5 percent of those 45- to 54- year-olds are users.

In addition, lower-income households are represented in greater numbers than upper-income families. Some 17 percent of Internet users in households earning less than $30,000 tweet and update their status, compared with 10 percent of those earning more than $75,000 annually. The study makes a correlation between younger adults earning less than older individuals.

Wireless users are far more likely to use Twitter, as well. Fourteen percent of users who access the Internet wirelessly via a laptop, handheld or cell phone have used a service like Twitter, compared with 6 percent of users who go online through a wired connection. They are also less likely to read a printed copy of a newspaper, but more apt to read a newspaper online (76 percent vs. 60 percent of non-Twitter users). The report found that the use of Twitter is related to the use of other social media. Those who blog or use social networks are more likely to use Twitter. Almost one quarter (23 percent) of social network users say they have ever Twittered or used a similar service. However, only 4 percent of those who do not use social networks have ever used such services.

Twitter users, in addition, keep blogs at a greater rate than the general online population. While 29 percent of Twitter users have ever created a blog, only 11 percent of Internet users as a group have created a blog.