Oxygen: Women Are Addicted To Facebook, But Unsure Where To Draw The Lines

For a large segment of women, checking Facebook has become a primary part of their morning routine, with the act of scrolling through status updates the first thing they do when waking. In a poll last month of 1,605 U.S. adults who use social media, 34 percent told NBC Universal’s Oxygen Media Facebook comes before brushing their teeth and nearly 40 percent are self-described “Facebook addicts.” The survey also found that 26 percent of women 18- to 34 get up in the middle of the night to read text messages and 37 percent of that group say they have fallen asleep with a PDA in their hands.

It’s not clear how the survey will reflect Oxygen’s offerings, but it does show that the NBCU company is paying attention. And while it doesn’t offer any corresponding answers from men, the unscientific survey does suggest that it’s not just males who can’t let go of their mobile devices.
The survey also shows a disconnect between attitudes about the public and private uses of sites like Facebook. Or maybe it reflects a certain indifference, since it seems many of the people they know post things that would otherwise seem indiscreet. For example:
—63 percent use Facebook for networking and career, but 42 percent don’t have a problem with posting photos of themselves “visibly intoxicated.”
—32 percent think photos of themselves or others making obscene gestures are appropriate as well.
In terms of privacy, the Oxygen survey found that women aren’t too concerned about being tracked at any given time. Case in point:
—56 percent of Twitter users surveyed are fine with letting their followers know their current location
—53 percent post personal problems they are having at the moment.
—85 percent of women think its okay to post photos of a “girls or guys night out.”
—79 percent see no reason to post photos with kissing in them.
—73 percent have no problem with someone posting images of a bachelorette party.
That’s not to say the respondents don’t have limits, though younger women sense that the lines have to be drawn somewhere:
—54 percent of women 18-24 do not trust Facebook with their private information.
—72 percent of females in that age group acknowledge that once it’s up on Facebook, “it will live on forever.” 
—Not everything from a night out should be posted on social nets, as 89 percent of these young women agree that if you don’t want your parents to see it, don’t post it on Facebook.
We'll be addressing some of these themes during our next conference, paidContent Mobile: Leveraging the Smartphone Boom, July 20 in New York City. You can find out more about the agenda and register at http://paidcontent.org/event/mobile2010/.