SOCIAL networking sites are now more popular than personal email with Australians spending one in every 10 minutes online, research shows.
And it was not just young internet users who were behind the trend on sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
The biggest surge in social networking was among 35 to 49-year-olds, while almost a quarter of Facebook users were over the age of 50.
Nielsen Online's Global Faces and Networked Places report, released yesterday, found the use of social networking and blogging sites in Australia jumped 4.9 per cent last year.
The report found three in every 10 internet users visited Facebook each month and spent an average of three hours on the social networking site.
Nielsen Online market research director Melanie Ingrey said the popularity of social sites showed no signs of stopping and would continue to spread in Australia this year.
"Not only is social networking experiencing rapid growth, it's evolving both in terms of a broader audience and new functionality," Ms Ingrey said.
QUT media and communications associate lecturer Angela Button said young social networking members were using the sites to form an identity online and preferred this communication to email, while older members were using the sites to stay connected with far-flung friends and family.
"Older people who are still tech-savvy are using it to maintain ties with other family members, show off photos of the grandchildren, organise family events and things like that," Ms Button said.
She said the blogging and social sites would surge in popularity this year with another social site, Twitter, recently reaching "mainstream awareness".
