The latest research from GfK MRI shows that Millennials play a dominant role on many of the top social media sites. This coveted consumer generation represents 70% of Instagram users and 61% on Twitter.

The GfK MRI data also reveal that the median age of Facebook users is 40 — up from 29 in 2009. The median ages of other social site users are 44 for LinkedIn, 42 for Google+, 38 for Pinterest, 38 for YouTube, 32 for Twitter, and 30 for Instagram.

GfK MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer® is a single-source database derived from continuous surveys of approximately 25,000 U.S. adults annually. In addition to use of all major media, GfK MRI measures consumption of over 6,500 products and services in nearly 600 categories.

According to GfK MRI, LinkedIn has the highest median household income (approximately $112,500) and the highest education levels among the top social media, photo, or video-sharing sites. Two-thirds (65%) of LinkedIn users fall into the “graduated college plus” category, compared to 29% of all adults. Pinterest users rank second in education level, with 41% registering as “graduated college plus.”

Across the seven major social and photo/video sharing sites, men outnumber women among users in just three: LinkedIn (55% of users versus 45%), Twitter (54% to 46%) and YouTube (51% to 49%) . Women are the majority of users of Facebook (57% versus 43%), Google+ (53% to 47%), Instagram (60% to 40%) and Pinterest (81% to 19%).

“These results clearly show that many of the social media applications are becoming mainstream, which bodes well for the long term viability of those companies,” said Florian Kahlert, Managing Director of GfK MRI. “At the same time, this growing acceptance raises the bar for media planners (and inventory sellers), because just adding social media sites to a plan without other sophisticated targeting no longer automatically increases your younger or savvy target groups.”

About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s leading research companies, with around 13,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2012, GfK’s sales amounted to €1.51 billion.

To find out more, visit www.gfk.com​/us or follow GfK on Twitter.