Pew Study: Blacks Over-Index On Twitter; Whites On Pinterest

Consumers have an ever-expanding set of choices for social-networking, and Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are finding a niche among different demographic subsets, according to new research from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

The study, an expansion of a similar study on Twitter in 2010, queried 1,802 people on their cell phones and land lines over the course of a month late last year.

Here are seven takeaways.

Black users over-index on Twitter.
Twenty-six percent of black internet users surveyed said they used Twitter, compared to 14% of white users and 19% of Hispanics. (In 2010, Pew reported that 13% of black internet users, 5% of white users and 18% of Hispanics were using on Twitter.)

Blacks and Latinos also over-index on Instagram.
Twenty-three and 18% of black and Latino internet users respectively use Instagram, compared to 11% of whites.

Pinterest is the whitest social platform.
Eighteen percent of white internet users are on Pinterest, compared to 8% of blacks and 10% of Hispanics.

Twitter is most popular among urban-dwellers.
Twenty percent of people living in urban areas use Twitter, compared to 14% in the suburbs and 12% in rural areas.

Pinterest is more popular among better-off people.
Twenty-three percent of people with household income between $50,000 and $74,999 use Pinterest, as well as 18% of people who make more than that. Just 10% of people who make under $30,000 use it.

Instagram has become much more popular than Tumblr.
Tumblr has been around since 2007, but just 6% of people surveyed use it. Thirteen percent use Instagram.

Facebook is used by everyone everywhere -- even senior citizens.
Thirty-five percent of people 65 and older use Facebook.