Facebook More Popular Communications Tool than Email: Prompt Survey

A new survey shows that Facebook may be replacing email as the most popular way to stay in touch with friends online.

Prompt Communications, a specialist in digital PR, marketing and social media communications, asked a sample of 300 consumers in Boston to explain how they use social media tools and more traditional communications in their daily lives.

Prompt found that phone calls remain the most common method of communication, with 99% of respondents regularly using the phone to connect with friends and family.

Facebook is now the next most popular communication tool, with 96% of respondents regularly using it to connect with friends, followed by text messaging at 93% and email at 91%.

When asked which method they used most frequently, most participants chose text messaging, at 37%, followed by Facebook and then the phone (28%). Although respondents clearly feel that email is now less important than social media, only 20% said they could live without it entirely.

Many people have nagging concerns about their employers seeing their personal information, with 73% worried that their bosses will view their profiles on social networks. However, they were far less hesitant to allow their families access, with only 27% saying they would not want family members to see the same profiles.

Interestingly, people overall seem to believe that advances in technology have created a negative effect on their lives and interpersonal communications in several ways. The majority (60%) believes that it relies too much on technology, while 71% believe social media is making communication less personal.

Despite these reservations, people are still using social media regularly; 28% of respondents claimed that they could only go one week without using social media, with a further 24% worried about just a few days. These figures compared to just 27% who felt they could live offline indefinitely.

“Facebook is the most popular social network in the world, with over 350 million users, so it should come as no surprise to discover that people are using it as a primary tool for communication,” says Hazel Butters, CEO of Prompt Communications. “However, our survey results also show that people are still using more established methods of communication, from the phone to email. It is important for organizations to understand these trends if they want to reach their customers exactly where and how they would like to be reached. As attitudes change and new methods of human interaction develop, businesses must stay ahead of the trends.”