Many people believe that blogs can replace mainstream media; however, the majority of bloggers see blogging more as a hobby rather than a serious profession.
According to the latest report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project (PIALP), about 77% of bloggers state that they write to express their feelings and thoughts rather than to “gain attention or earn extra income.”
Approximately 37% of bloggers indicate that life and experiences are their main blog topics. However, politics and government are the second most concerning topic, accounting for 11% of blog content.
Surprisingly, entertainment only ranks modestly in third place, with 7%, followed by sports (6%) and current affairs (5%).
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| Source: Reuters |
Statistics show that about 8% of the population uses the Internet in the U.S., equivalent to 12 million people who are currently blogging. The number of blog readers is significantly larger, nearly 5 times that figure (approximately 39%).
However, the majority of blog audiences are young people. Over half of bloggers, or 54%, are under the age of 30.
Blog or News?
According to PIALP, most blogs only employ a “storytelling and narrative” style of writing and have not yet achieved true journalistic standards.
About 34% of respondents consider blogging a new form of journalism, while a dominant 65% disagree with this view. Only one-third of bloggers reported that they regularly engage in journalistic activities such as fact-checking and linking to other reliable sources.
There is substantial evidence showing that the activities of bloggers are largely spontaneous: over 40% admit they never directly cite sources or mainstream media.
Only 11% have ever corrected false information, while 61% reveal that they rarely or have never received permission to use copyrighted materials.
Nonetheless, the number of images and audio links used in blogs is quite abundant. As many as 72% of bloggers regularly post images in their articles. In many cases, blogs are considered a more “rapid-fire,” diverse, and up-to-date source of images than mainstream media.
55% of bloggers frequently use pen names when posting. Nine out of ten bloggers encourage readers to leave comments.
PIALP predicts that blogging will continue to be a hot field in the near future. A staggering 82% of bloggers affirm they will continue blogging for at least another year, while only 3% say they will abandon this time-consuming hobby.
Thien Yi
