A large group of Americans use Social Media to stay in touch with family members. Among this group, it is women who find this function more important. Two-thirds of all Social Media users cite family connections as a major reason for their use of these sites. There seems to be no major differences on this question in terms of age, income, education, race, parental status or place of residence. The only major difference seems to be with women being more likely than men to cite the family connection. For those under the age of 50 staying in touch with current friends and reconnecting with old friends is most relevant. Roughly seven in ten in this age group say that staying in touch with friends is a major reason they use online social platforms. For middle aged and older adults, the preference seems to be as a tool to connect with others around a hobby or interest. Sixteen percent of 30-49-year old’s, and 18 percent of 50-64-year old’s say that connecting with others that share common interests or hobbies is a major reason they use social networking sites. Although not a huge group, some Latinos and African Americans show more interest in the ability to read comments by public figures such as politicians, celebrities or athletes. Ten percent of African Americans and eleven percent of Latinos say that reading comments from public figures is a major reason for using these sites. It will be interesting to see how these figures change in time. ]]>