The Pew Internet & American Life project polled over 2,250 Americans to find out why exactly they use social media platforms. The results pointed to one common answer: keeping in-though with acquaintances or reconnecting with former friends they may have lost touch with. Some of the lowest motivators include using social media to create new friends, find dating partners or follow celebrities.

Hands down, the most common reason for using social media was “Staying in touch with current friends” as 91% of respondents agreed it was a ‘minor to major’ reason they embraced social media. Following closely behind were the reasons “staying in touch with family” and “connecting with old friends you’f lost touch with” with 87% agreement and 86% agreement respectively.

The lowest motivators were “finding dating or romantic partners” and “reading comments by celebrities, athletes, or politicians”. Only 3% of respondents stated that dating was a ‘major reason’ they joined a social platform, and only 5% said following celebs was a major reason.

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