Two thirds of US adults now use social media

Some 65% of American adults now use social networking services, up from just 7% in 2005, according to the Pew Research Center.

The US think tank claims that 90% of young adults aged 18 to 29 use social media, up from 12% in 2005.

While people in this age group have “always been the most likely users of social media by a considerable margin,” this growth marks 78-percentage point increase, according to Pew.

Among those aged 65 and older, 35% now use social media, up from just 2% in 2005, according to the report. At the same time, it said there has been a 69-point increase among those aged 30-49, from 8% in 2005 to 77% today.

While usage among young adults started to level off as early as 2010, since then there has been a surge in usership among those 65 and older,” said the  Pew Research Centre.

The report said that women and men use social media at similar rates, that there aren’t notable differences by racial or ethnic group and that people with “higher education levels” are more likely to be social media users.