The latest findings in the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project released Monday revealed that more than half, 54 percent of U.S. internet users, post original pictures or videos online. This is an increase from 46 percent last year. In addition, 46 percent internet users repost images or videos discovered elsewhere.
Pew researchers also found that women were more active sharers than men. Nearly 59 percent of female internet users post photos and videos they have taken themselves, compared with 50 percent of men. Similarly, 53 percent of women reposted images and videos found elsewhere on the internet, compared with 42 percent of men.
"Sharing photos and videos online adds texture, play, and drama to people's interactions in their social networks," Pew Internet's Maeve Duggan, author of a report on the new findings, said in a press release. "Pictures document life from a special angle, whether they relate to small moments, personal milestones, or larger news and events."
"Mobile connectivity has brought these visuals into countless lives in real-time. This all adds up to a new kind of collective digital scrapbook with fresh forms of storytelling and social bonding," she added.
Since smartphones have simplified sharing content online with just a few clicks, the survey found that among 58 percent smartphone owners, some 18 percent use Instagram and nine percent use Snapchat photo-sharing apps to share content online.
The study involved 1,000 adults, aged above 18, and was conducted from October 3 to 6, 2013. Among the participants, 852 were internet users and 941 had cell phones.
The survey revealed that young adults, in the 18-29 age group, were active sharers. Among those 81 percent uploaded original content online and 68 percent reposted photos and videos. Nearly half, 43 percent used Instagram, while 26 percent used Snapchat to share content online.
"In terms of mobile, young people have always been early and eager adopters of new apps and platforms for sharing," Duggan added.
