Texting, a simple method to send messages from wireless handset to handset, may be the largest single roadblock to Twitter’s growth.
A survey by Pew shows that among internet users between 8 and 17 years old, only 8% use Twitter while 66% of the age group send or receive text messages. That means that millions of people are bypassing Twitter as a means of communicating though short messages. Even among older teens between the ages of 14 and 17, only 10% are likely to use Twitter. In another survey, Pew found that 19% of adults online use Twitter.
As the teenage group ages, its lack of interest in Twitter could sharply undermine the growth of the service.
The research also showed that 73% of teenagers online use one or more social networks compared with 47% of adults. The figure for the older group is up from 37% in November 2008. The Pew survey shows just how much Facebook has done to erode MySpace’s place among social network users. “Facebook is currently the most commonly used online social network among adults. Among adult profile owners 73% have a profile on Facebook, 48% have a profile on MySpace and 14% have a LinkedIn profile,” the study showed.
Pew’s poll also shows that mobile computing is ruining the desktop business especially among the relatively young. “The impact of the mobile web can be seen in young adults’ computer choices. Two‐thirds of 18‐29 year olds (66%) own a laptop or netbook, while 53% own a desktop computer.”
The research, if correct, is bad news for Twitter and good news for Facebook, and another indication that Twitter may go the way of the hula hoop, one of the great fades of the early 1960s.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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