Social networking is here to stay, but a new M:Metrics study proves that mobile social networking is far from mainstream; in America, which leads the world in this respect, only around 3.5 percent of mobile users bother to access social networks with their cell phones.
Furthermore, as Silicon Valley Insider’s Dan Frommer notes, “Even that crowd seems to treat it as a novelty. Just 1.1% visited one at least once a week, and 0.7% used a mobile social network almost every day.” (The 3.5 percent represents U.S. users throughout the month of June.)
That looks like bad news for mobile social networking – never mind loving it, only around one out of every hundred people even like it. Yet a more positive person might view this as an opportunity for growth, and given the technology’s young age, that could be a valid interpretation.
“Nearly every online social networking site has added the ability to connect to these communities with a mobile phone, allowing people to access profiles and share content while they’re on the go,” Mark Donovan, a senior analyst at M:Metrics, told 3G. “With the mobile phone playing a central role in people’s social lives, it’s only natural that social networking sites are working to bridge the gap between the online and mobile worlds.”
But between 3.5 percent and 100, there’s a long way to go.
