July 14, 2010
7/14: Half of Social Networkers Online Concerned About Privacy
50% of U.S. residents who have a profile on a social networking site are worried about their privacy. This includes 27% who are concerned and 23% who are very concerned. The remaining 50% aren’t too anxious. 29% are not very concerned, and 21% are not concerned at all.
©istockphoto.com/alexsl
The oldest Americans are the most worried. 65% of those 60 and older have some degree of concern about their privacy on a social networking site.
Women with a social networking profile are more concerned about their privacy than men. A majority of women — 57% — have some level of anxiety about the issue compared with 43% of men.
So, just how many Americans are connecting via social networking websites? 43% say they have a profile on a site like Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn. 57%, however, do not. There has been little change on this question, overall, since Marist last asked it in December. At that time 41% of U.S. residents said they stay in touch via social networking websites while 59% did not.
Currently, 40% of men have a profile on a social networking site. That proportion stood at 36% in December. Women, however, continue to outnumber men in this regard. 45% use these tools to keep in touch with family and friends. This proportion has not changed since December.
Table: Privacy on Social Networking Sites
Table: Have a Social Networking Profile