A new report analyzes social media trends and patterns, including the influence of social media on consumer behavior.

The report, by the Neilsen Company, a provider of consumer insight and social media analysis, shows that social networks and blogs dominate people’s online time by accounting for almost a quarter of total time on the Internet, Americans spend more time on Facebook than any other U.S. website and most adult social network users also shop online.

Additional statistics show:

• Americans spent more than 53 billion total minutes on Facebook in May 2011

• 70 percent of active online adult social networkers shop online, which is 12 percent more likely that the average adult Internet user

• Females and 18-34 year-olds are the most active social network users

• Almost 40 percent of social media users access social media content from their mobile phone

• More than twice as many people that are 55 or older visited social networking sites on their mobile phone than last year

• Social Network app usage is up 30 percent from a year ago

• Across ten major global markets, social networks and blogs reach over three-quarters of active Internet users

• Tumblr is growing in popularity, by almost tripling its audience in just a year

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