CorpComms Magazine

Two out of five Americans claim that they have received a good suggestion for something to try as a result of their use of social media and one in four have yet to receive a suitable recommendation, according to a new survey by Harris Interactive.

But the results vary across the age spectrum, with 59 per cent of those aged between 18 and 33 claiming that they have received a good recommendation from social media against just 19 per cent of those over 65 years of age.

Almost one in four 'Echo Boomers', defined as aged between 18 and 33, made a connection regarding a job opportunity via social media, against almost one in five of the Gen X, aged between 34 and 45, and 11 per cent of the Baby Boomer generation, aged between 46 and 64.

But seven per cent of those surveyed have lost a potential job opportunity because of comments or pictures that they had previously posted online. Men are three times as likely to suffer in this way.

Just over two in five social media users claim they have been offended by either comments, posts or pictures that they have seen online. Perhaps unsurprisingly, women (48 per cent) are more often offended than men (38 per cent).

The survey, which took place between 6 and 13 December, found that 12 per cent of Echo Boomers had been in trouble with work or school because of pictures that they had posted of themselves online, while 37 per cent claim that people they had no connections with had viewed their posts or comments.

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