Numerous studies and reports are floating on the internet to prove the spike in the use of social networking apps during the pandemic. What’s interesting about this phenomenon, however, is that this spike in usage is across all age groups – from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. These apps have become a constant source of both succour and entertainment during the pandemic as they are convenient, easy-to-use, and one-hundred percent free.
So, to get better insights into the extent to which people have been using social networking apps, we conducted a comprehensive poll with 7,991 respondents. We asked them about their most loved app and had them pick their top three from a list of eight. The most popular out of the lot are Facebook (24.49%), YouTube (23.35%), and Instagram (19.33%). These are then followed by Twitter (10.40%), LinkedIn (6.34%), Pinterest (5.61%), Snapchat (5.48%), and lastly, the controversial Tik Tok (4.99%).
The next question in line was formulated specifically to understand the screen time of these users better. Out of the 2,852 respondents, we had asked, the majority of the users (31.59%) claim to spend more than five hours a day on their phones. 33.56% of the users spend two to five hours a day on their phones, while 17.22% of the respondents only use it for one to two hours. And while on one hand, 15.57% of the respondents quite unabashedly state that they are always glued to their phones, on the other hand, 2.07% of the respondents hardly use them anymore.
Taking the poll forward, we shifted our focus on one social networking app in particular – LinkedIn. With one out of three professionals on the planet being on LinkedIn and the work culture shifting to work from home, we thought that a poll revolving around this app was much needed. So first, we asked our respondents how they used the LinkedIn App – through the website or by downloading the app. 32.17% of the users use the app version to browse through the content, while 31.31% of the respondents use the website. 26.72% of the respondents have never used LinkedIn in their life and 9.79% of them don’t know what this app is all about. It seems, therefore, that this last group employs some other means to stay linked-in with people.
Next, we tried to gauge the frequency of use for the app and discovered that it is quite popular amongst people. And why wouldn’t it be? Bobby Darnell, Principal of Construction Market Consultants, rightly said, “Active participation on LinkedIn is the best way to say, ‘Look at me!’ without saying ‘Look at me!’” It is the perfect platform for people to engage with the exact audiences they had been looking for. The answers to this poll revealed a similar sentiment. 21.21% of the respondents claim to use it once a day without fail and 13.94% of the users manage to log in more than once in a day. 22.20% use it two to three times a week and 8.01% of the respondents even claim to use it more than 5 times a week. 32.44% of the respondents, however, do not use the app at all.
Last but not the least, we wrapped-up our poll with the most important question – why people use LinkedIn. Out of the 2,747 respondents in total, 29.89% of them say that they use the app to find new jobs. 23.92% of the respondents use it to connect with people, while 11.07% of them use it to stay updated on the latest industry news. 3.71% of the respondents have a completely different agenda as they claim to use it for building their own brand, and 1.53% of the users say that it helps Google rank their names better. It looks like that all these users are following the wise words of Jill Rowley when she said, “LinkedIn is no longer an online resume. It’s your digital reputation.” And all these users’ efforts are driven in trying to keep a good digital reputation.
People will use a particular social networking app only if they see a value in it for themselves. Or else, they might download it once without actually understanding its true potential and what it can do for them. The LinkedIn users, however, are quite clear about what they want to do and achieve with the app. It has also been very helpful in the times of the pandemic and, the millions of users and the high frequency of time spent on the app stand testimony to its obvious advantages. Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn very succinctly put together what LinkedIn truly epitomizes when he said, “If you can get better at your job, you should be an active member of LinkedIn, because LinkedIn should be connecting you to the information, insights, and people to be more effective.” Efficacy is at the core of the app, and perhaps that is the reason why people are linked with LinkedIn.
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3 replies on “Keeping Up the Social Distancing with Social Networking”
This information is very helpful. Thank you very much!
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