We’re Addicted to Our Friends

Sometimes, you hear something and you know it’s absolutely right. You don’t need proof, because it simply makes sense.  Done.

Sometimes, all of a sudden, you find proof.

This thought crossed my mind when I came across a research report on eMarketer, compiled by Beresford Research, covering “Use of Online Social Networks”  The title sure ain’t all that sexy, but this is what struck me:

When asked to compare online social networking with several offline activities, social network users only found going out with friends more important. That put social networking ahead of real-life activities such as playing games, reading, watching TV and playing sports.

So, ask yourself, what do you enjoy more than being with your friends?

This small data point offered me some proof to what I heard back in the spring from Tim Young at the Inbound Marketing Summit in San Francisco.  What Tim said is something that I’ve been repeating ever since.

Tim is Founder & CEO of Socialcast and a very smart guy.  His gave a short speech in SF about Collective Creativity and Generation Y, and here’s the sound bite that struck me:

Young people aren’t addicted to Facebook, we’re addicted to our friends.

Think about it.  He’s right.  (And now he’s got the research to provide it).

For marketers looking to engage on Facebook, I think that creates a (maybe not so) small hurdle, because what users are there for could be just about anything.  Therefore, marketers may have a hard time being relevant.  But that’s a story for another day.

Today, I’ll look to hear something smart from Tim, because he and I are both speaking at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston.