Report: 71 Percent of Online Adults Use Video-Sharing Sites

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Internet users in the U.S. have increased their usage of video-sharing sites in the last year, with a reported 71 percent of online adults watching videos on portals such as YouTube or Vimeo, according to new findings from the Pew Research Center.

As of May 2011, 71 percent of adult Internet users in the U.S. reported using video-sharing sites. This is up from 66 percent from the year prior, and is an increase of 38 percent from five years ago.

The frequency of using these sites has also increased. The use of video-sharing services on any given day jumped 5 percent, from 23 percent of online Americans in 2010 to 28 percent for the same period in 2011.

The research indicates that the rise in use of video-sharing sites is at least partly being led by the growth in content on sites like YouTube and by user contributions.

“The rise of broadband and better mobile networks and devices has meant that video has become an increasingly popular part of users’ online experiences,” said Kathleen Moore, the author of the report. “People use these sites for every imaginable reason—to laugh and learn, to watch the best and worst of popular culture and to check out news. And video-sharing sites are very social spaces as people vote on, comment on and share these videos with others.”