mediations: Ofcom Social Networking report

Mediations: Philip Young

Mediations comments on public relations, journalism, and communication ethics, often in the context of social media. Philip Young is a senior lecturer in public relations and journalism at the University of Sunderland, specialising in media ethics. He is also a lead researcher for the Euprera EuroBlog project. All views expressed here are personal and should not be seen as representing the University of Sunderland.

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Ofcom has published a valuable report on the penetration of social media in the UK, finding that just over one fifth (22%) of adult internet users aged 16+ and almost half (49%) of children aged 8-17 who use the internet have set up their own profile on a social networking site

Download the executive summary and full report

Social networkers differ in their attitudes to social networking sites and in their behaviour while using them. Ofcom’s qualitative research indicates that site users tend to fall into five distinct groups based on their behaviours and attitudes. These are as follows:

Alpha Socialisers (a minority) – people who used sites in intense short bursts to flirt, meet new people, and be entertained.
Attention Seekers – (some) people who craved attention and comments from others, often by posting photos and customising their profiles.
Followers – (many) people who joined sites to keep up with what their peers were doing.
Faithfuls – (many) people who typically used social networking sites to rekindle old friendships, often from school or university.
Functionals – (a minority) people who tended to be single-minded in using sites for a particular purpose.

Download as a presentation

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