Gay and Lesbians more likely to read blogs and use social networking sites

A new online study shows gay and lesbian adults are more likely to be reading news and current issues blogs and are more likely to be members of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

According to a recent American survey conducted by Harris Interactive®, a small majority of gay and lesbian adults online today are reading blogs. More than half (55%) of gay and lesbian respondents reported reading some type of blog, compared with only 38% of heterosexuals.

The new nationwide survey of 3,000 U.S. adults, (ages 18 and over), of whom 404, self identified as gay or lesbian (which includes an oversample of lesbian and gay adults), was conducted online between May 11 and 18, 2009, by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the GLBT market.

Apart from getting information online from reading blogs, gay and lesbian adults also are choosing to connect online through social networking sites more often than their heterosexual counterparts. Slightly more than half (55%) of gay and lesbian adults state they are members of Facebook, compared with 46% of heterosexual adults.

In several years capturing trends, we see again that gays and lesbians are not only looking to stay well informed but also to expand their key social, professional and personal connections online”, said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. “As companies work to make the most of their advertising budgets in the current economic climate, blogs and social networking sites are an even more powerful cross-section of opportunities today when reaching out to this market.”

Full data tables and methodology are available at Harris Interactive (PDF).