As the trend toward expanding social networking to mobile devices in the United States increases, an important group on which to focus is the Millennial generation. More than 75 million Americans are classified as Millennials, people currently between the ages of eight and twenty-nine. This generation is smart and very techno-savvy; they are also the leading users of mobile devices. They have had access to cell phones and computers since they were toddlers. As a result, most Millennials don’t use phone books, foldable maps, or heavy dictionaries—they just go online. Usually voracious consumers since birth, Millennials are almost always spending. They are also the primary users of social networks and now mobile social networks.
In a 2006 Young Voter Strategies poll, more than 90% of Millennials surveyed said they used email and the internet. In In-Stat's 2007 Consumer Mobility Survey, almost 80% of Millennials said they had used SMS (text messaging) in the previous month. This survey also revealed that while the use of text messages decreased with age, the use of mobile phones for the purpose of social networking does not decrease with older members of the Millennial generation.
Millennials under 25 are most active with online social networks, frequently accessing sites more than once a day. The results of a recent In-Stat survey on social networking and on-line video use found this desire to stay connected now extends from personal computer to mobile device. More than ten percent of all respondents up to age 44 use their phones for social networking or to access on-line videos (Table 1). Of these respondents, Millennials in the 18-24 year old group were the heaviest users of cell phones for mobile social networking.

Clearly the audience of the mobile social networking users exists, albeit still in its infancy. The challenge for cellular operators, social networking site developers, handset manufacturers and venture capitalists is how to maintain the attention of this young demographic, grow this market and how to capitalize on the interest the Millennials show in this technology.