The Rolling Stones said it best, “You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.” But according to a new study, Internet users are getting what they need and what they want.
A week ago I discussed the facts related to social networking, its benefits, and privacy.
And this past Monday, at the 3rd Internet Governance Forum – USA (IGF-USA), Lee Rainie from the PEW Research Institute, reported several more recent PEW findings as part of a proclamation of the benefits of social media:
- 59% of Americans connect to Internet through smartphones
- 33% use location services
- 9% attach their location to their tweets and other posts
- 2/3 of adults and 3/4 of teens have created content on the Internet.
- Users generally say that they get what they want from the Internet.
But the benefits do not stop there.
When Q&A opened, NetChoice was first at the mic, asking Lee about PEW findings that Facebook users were more politically engaged and socially interactive than non-Facebook users. We asked Lee if Facebook just attracted people who already had these positive qualities or if Facebook helped cultivate these qualities in its users.
Lee responded with PEW findings that “people are more aware of the social issues when they are in social networking spaces and more likely to engage in political activities.”
Lee said that despite concerns that social media lets people self-select others with extreme views, Facebook exposes users to a broader range of political views from their ever-expanding networks of friends.
So people get what they need in the form of more exposure to the outside world and greater community involvement. And when asked, people say they are getting what they want.
Maybe the Rolling Stones had a catchy song, but in the context of the Internet, the lyrics are “you can always get what you want, and you always get what you need.”