Australia-first study reveals our changing social media habits, as users shift towards Snapchat, Instagram and Vine

A MAJOR study on our social media habits shows Aussie men reveal far too much of themselves on social media sites like Snapchat.

James Law

3 min read

June 6, 2014 - 2:15PM

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AN Australian-first study has revealed our social media habits — and the surprising stats that make us more like Russia than the UK or US.

The most scandalous finding of the research, led by advertising agency The Works, is that three out of five Aussie males who use the app Snapchat admit to sending sexual content. This figure drops to one in five for women.

Despite this, The Works partner Douglas Nicol said Australian users of Snapchat, a photo and video sharing app that automatically deletes posts after 10 seconds, were not as depraved as some might assume.

“(Snapchat) is not the wild child that people think it is, but of the people who are sending naughty images, the vast majority are men,” Mr Nicol said.

This week, Snapchat hit the headlines when Carlton AFL player Josh Bootsma was sacked for using the social network inapprorpriately to sext young women.

This graphic show what users are most likely to post on Instagram video and Vine.

But in fact it is the women who are leading the charge in social media.

The majority of Aussie users of image- and video-sharing sites Instagram, Snapchat and Vine are women, which sets us apart from the US and UK, and makes us more like Russia. Women are also more likely to share or comment on a post.

Seventy per cent of posts on Vine were from women, 61 per cent on Snapchat and 58 per cent on Instagram. The gender split in the US and UK is much more balanced.

“Australian blokes need to get their act together,” Mr Nicol joked.

Men are more likely to send sexual content through Snapchat than women.

The research also reveals that Australians are changing the way they use social media — and becoming much more conscious of their digital footprint.

Snapchat and Vine videos tend to be sent to only one or two others, unlike Facebook where updates are usually broadcast to your extended friend group.

“People are sharing less on Facebook,” Mr Nicol said. “They’re more worried about whether that naughty party image comes back to haunt them later on when they go for a job interview.”

The study found 91 per cent of Snapchat users still had Facebook, but they weren’t using it in the same way.

“They’re not sharing everything; they’re becoming quite selective and messaging video is coming to the fore,” he said.

“Privacy is more important than sharing. The benefits of sharing are slightly tarnished.”

A classic Instagram beach shot.

The number of friends people had on Facebook and Instagram was once a point of pride, but now users are sharing less and directing their posts to a smaller audience.

“Snapchat is the social media weapon of choice for 17- to 25-year-olds,” Mr Nicol said.

“It’s easy to think it’s just another Instagram, but actually Snapchat mashes up messaging and content more like text messaging than traditional newsfeed-style social media.”

The survey found 19 per cent of Snapchats were sent to one person, and 42 per cent were sent to two or three, which is in stark contrast to sharing a photo with your legion of Facebook friends.

“It’s a huge change in the psychology of social media,” Mr Nicol said.

The research also identified some of the hot spots for social media use. For instance, Melbourne residents lead the way in the use of Vine.

The Works conducted the survey in conjunction with the University of Technology, Sydney.

More than 3.2 million geotagged videos and images from Instagram and Vine were analysed and the research also included an online survey of 4000 Snapchat users.