The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, released a study that identifies trends and demographic information of Twitters users ie 'twits,' 'tweeps,' or 'tweeple.' Twitter is is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.

The study shows that the use of Twitter has been most embraced by young adults: 20% of online adults 25 to 34 have used the technology while only 10% of 35 to 44 year olds and 5% of 45 to 54 year olds tweet. Overall, 11% of online adults use Twitter or update their status online

I'm not surprised that young adults dominate Twitter use; however my husband's 82 year-old granddad was asking me about it last week...so maybe the median age is on the rise.

In the US, 47% of Tweeters are female, 53% are male. From my interaction with Twinkle, an iphone Twitter app, it seems like there are more females out there using Twitter but I mostly see local use here in the Athens area.

Most tweeple are savvy Internet and technology users. In fact, more than three-quarters use the Internet wirelessly by laptop, PDA, iphone, or cell phone. Seems like this is the biggest reason for Twitter's popularity as you can access it from anywhere while you are on the go.

In addition, a plethora of third-party Twitter plug-in and sharing applications (like Twinkle, Twitterific, Tweetdeck, Yoono, etc. etc.) exists that allow users to customize its use and fit it into platforms they already use.

Other interesting facts from PEW:
median age of a twitter user is 31
median age of a myspace user is 27
media age of a facebook user is 26
media age of a linkedin user is 40
35% of twitter users live in urban areas

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