The Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a division of National Retail Federation, released new research at NRF’s Retail Innovation & Marketing Conference on the habits of social media users. Comparing social media users to the average U.S. adult, the survey looks at the differences in demographics for each group, including male and female usage as well as age differences in social media users compared to other adults.

The survey, “Social Media: An Inside Look at the People Who Use It,” compares U.S. social media users to the average American adult. Survey highlights include:

• Seven out of 10 social media users between the ages of 18-34 regularly use Facebook more than other sites such as MySpace, Twitter and Classmates
• 71.8 percent of social media users say that after an online search, they communicate with others about a product or service with face-to-face communication
• More people who use social media prefer to give advice about a product or service rather than receive it
• Social media users are more likely to use other new media compared to adults 18+
• 70.6 percent of female social media users regularly use Facebook, compared to 61.0 percent of males
• More men than women prefer to communicate with others via a cell phone conversation after searching for a product or service online

View the full research report.