The introductory text reads, While emerging adults are the biggest users of digital technology, older adults are
also heavy adopters. Smart devices and social media sites can enable positive interactions with friends and
relatives. However, some users worry about over-consuming and decide, for instance, to delete an app or avoid a
certain platform for some time.
A subheading reads, How many U. S. Adults In Each Cohort (ellipsis). A
pictorial bar graph shows the social media use by different generations in percentage approximately as follows.
Millennial (birth 1981 to 1996): Own a smartphone, 90 percent; Own a tablet, 60 percent; Use social Media, 85
percent.
Gen X (birth 1965 to 1980): Own a smartphone, 85 percent; Own a tablet, 50 percent; Use social
Media, 75 percent.
Boomer (birth 1946 to 1964): Own a smartphone, 70 percent; Own a tablet, 60 percent; Use
social Media, 65 percent.
Silent (birth 1945 and earlier): Own a smartphone, 35 percent; Own a tablet, 30
percent; Use social Media, 28 percent.
A text below reads, There are substantial age differences in social
media use. About 90 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds use some form of social media, but that number falls to 37
percent among Americans 65 and older. As of 2019, Facebook continues to be the most widely used social media
platform: Approximately 68 percent of U. S. adults are users. Other than YouTube, no other social media sites or
apps are used by more than half of U. S. adults.
A graph titled ‘How Many U. S. Adults Use At Least One
Social Media Site per Day?’ plots Year along the horizontal axis and the percentage of users along the
vertical axis. The approximate data in the graph are as follows.
Age 18 to 29: (2005, 18), (2006, 40), (2007,
60), (2008, 60), (2009, 78), (2010, 65), (2011, 78), (2012, 81), (2013, 82), (2014, 80), (2015, 85), (2016, 80),
(2017, 85), (2018, 85).
Age 30 to 49: (2005, 15), (2006, 10), (2007, 20), (2008, 25), (2009, 41), (2010, 55),
(2011, 60), (2012, 65), (2013, 75), (2014, 77), (2015, 76), (2016, 77), (2017, 76), (2018, 79).
Age 50 to 64:
(2005, 5), (2006, 6), (2007, 7), (2008, 8), (2009, 21), (2010, 35), (2011, 30), (2012, 45), (2013, 50), (2014, 45),
(2015, 50), (2016, 60), (2017, 60), (2018, 65).
Age 65 plus: (2005, 1), (2006, 0), (2007, 2), (2008, 3),
(2009, 5), (2010, 10), (2011, 11), (2012, 20), (2013, 22), (2014, 23), (2015, 38), (2016, 36), (2017, 39), (2018,
40).
A text below reads, While social media has many positive uses, many adults are concerned about privacy
and the information they see on social media sites: According to Pew Research Center, only 5 percent of social media
users trust that information ‘a lot.’ Nevertheless, news and social media sites are the most common ways
U. S. adults access news.
A linear recession line gives the data for the study ‘When asked twice a day
for one week, where did online news consumers say they viewed news stories?’ as follows.
News org
website or app: 36 percent; Social media: 35 percent; Search engine: 20 percent; News org email or text or alert: 15
percent; Family or friend email or text: 7 percent; and Other: 9 percent.