Social Media is Crawling with LGBT People

by Michael Jones · 2009-06-10 07:23:00 UTC
Topics:

Social Media

Well, as a gay blogger, I can't say that I'm surprised.  It turns out that a new study from Harris Interactive shows that LGBT people are way more active on social media and blogs than their straight counterparts.  Does that mean its a good time to be an LGBT blogger?

Here's the stats:

  • Fifty-five percent of LGBT respondents reported that they read some type of blog regularly, compared to 38% of heterosexuals;

  • 55% of LGBT adults are on Facebook and 43% are members of MySpace;

  • Among heterosexuals, only 46% are on Facebook and 30% are on MySpace;

  • 20% of LGBT consumers reported using Twitter compared to 12% of heterosexuals;

  • 23% of LGBT respondents said they were a part of professional networking site LinkedIn, compared to 13% of heterosexual adults.

Wow, so not only do we own Hollywood, but us LGBT folk also have bragging rights to the Internet, too!

Kidding, of course.  But I do think it's telling that LGBT activists, consumers, respondents, or whatever you want to call your average every day Internet user, potentially use social media more than straight people.  It's certainly not because LGBT people are inherently more tech savvy (you should see me try to set up a wireless network!  I'd find commanding a rocket ship less daunting...).  But it could be that, given the stigma that LGBT people face in the "real" world, many have been able to carve out safe, accepting, healthy communities online that foster growth.

And if that's true, that would certainly be one reasonable explanation for the higher prevalence of LGBT people in the world of social media.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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