What's the median age of social network users?

Often it's assumed that teenagers are the main users of social networking tools from Facebook to Twitter.

However the research conducted over the last few years indicates that the real situation is a little different.

Based on the most recent Pew Internet research (of US internet users 18+) the median age of popular social networks are as follows,

• Twitter median user age 31yrs (stable from May 2008),
• Facebook median user age 33yrs (up from 26yrs in May 2008),
• MySpace median user age 26yrs (down from 27yrs in May 2008),
• LinkedIn median user age 39yrs (down from 40yrs in May 2008).

Looking at Twitter in focus, Comscore reported that while 12-17yr olds only made up 12% of visitors to Twitter's website in June 2009 this was double the percentage reported at the same time last year, and 18-24yr olds increased to 18% of visitors compared to 11% last year.

Neilsen data from February also suggests that Twitter is most popularity among older demographics, with adults ages 35-49 having the largest representation on Twitter in February 2009, comprising nearly 42% of the site’s audience.

Pew Internet's profile of a (US) Twitterer also provides useful information on who is Twittering - and why.

Age Distribution of Twitter users (Comscore - April 2009)
Source: http://blog.comscore.com/2009/04/twitter_traffic_explodesand_no.html