Social Networking Users On The Rise In Ireland And, Yes, People Still Have Bebo Accounts

Do you remember the mass exodus of the Summer 2009 from Bebo to Facebook?

Social media users abandoned the colourful Bebo site to join the more stream-lined, smooth-looking, blue-framed Facebook within weeks.

Some mourned the loss of their Bebo account, distraught that you could not personalise your Facebook with a ‘skin’, others bounded towards the ‘poking’ and ‘liking’ of Facebook with a new-found energy and interest for social media.

Now, it has been revealed that although Facebook is the country’s most-used social network, 10 per cent of social media users still have a Bebo account.

If it’s been unused since your early teen years, it could be dangerous for creeping employers. Reading about your night out with a few cans or where you want to get your next piercing doesn’t look professional.

The Ipsos MRBI Social Networking survey found that over 56 per cent of Irish adults over the age of 15 now have a Facebook account. Taking into account photo-tagging, party invites and online conversations with friends, it’s like a passport to a social life at this stage. This figure is a nine per cent increase in the last six months. The survey also showed that 58 per cent of Facebook account holders access the site daily, an increase of five points on the last quarterly report.

Tweeting is on the rise, as Twitter account ownership has increased by almost 50 per cent in the last few months, and more than one in five Irish people over the age of 15 now have a Twitter account.

The online CV LinkedIn has also shown an impressive growth of nearly 40 per cent, with 18 per cent of people over the age of 15 now having a LinkedIn account.

The less popular Google Plus still saw its Irish users rise to 16 per cent, according to the survey.

The survey was carried out by Ipsos MRBI, an Irish market research agency that has been tracking social networking usage in Ireland since last year.