Social networking is one of the most popular activities among internet users in the United States. As of November 2016, 72 percent of adult women and 66 percent of adult men used social networking sites. Facebook, the largest social network site in the world, is popular amongst U.S. internet users as well, particularly women. As of April 2016, about 83 percent of female internet users in the U.S. used Facebook. The rate of U.S. male internet users on Facebook stood at 75 percent during that measured time. The share of male and female U.S. internet users who access Twitter is somewhat similar – 24 percent and 25 percent respectively as of April 2016. On Instagram, female users are predominant. About 38 percent of female internet users were on Instagram, and 26 percent of male internet users used the photo sharing app.
In 2015, about 21 percent of adults in the United States, male and female, stated being online almost constantly. Much of this constant use of the internet could be attribute to the rise of mobile internet. Mobile phone owners use their devices for different functions; using location-based services, researching and shopping for products, video chatting, and talking to friends via social media platforms are a few examples of mobile internet users’ activities. Women in the United States are more likely to be mobile-first shoppers. About 53.4 percent of women stated primarily researching and purchasing products via their smartphone. The share of male mobile-first shoppers in the United States stood at 46.6 percent. U.S. women in the are also more likely to use mobile payment services. In 2015, nearly 55 percent of U.S. users who had used mobile payment services in the past 12 months were female. About 45 percent were male.
