Back to the subject of studying human behavior online—what is now called “netography”—a recent survey from Crowd Science contends that three times as many females from males claim “hanging” at social networks a favorite leisure activity.
According to the findings, one-third (34%) of females vs. one-tenth (10%) of males who engage in social media state it is their favorite leisure activity.
But are they pleased with this activity?
Over one-half (54%) of female study participants over age 21 vs. four-in-ten (38%) of males of the same age believe they spend far too much time accessing online social media. Younger participants also felt they use social media too much, so claims 46% of teens (17 and under) and 38% of 18-29 year-olds. This number drops significantly to 23% for the 30-39 demographic, and 12% for those 40+. Does this mean people in the 30-40 age group spend more time using social media than the kids?
Seems so. Or, they feel less guilty about it.
A branch of ethnography that is a fast-growing trend is called leisure studies—researching and collecting data on how people spend their leisure time, which runs the gambit from vacations to recreational sports to playing video games and watching TV. For marketers, how and why people relax and do things that are non-work related are quite important, because more often than not, a purchased product or service is involved.