For Millenials, social media enhances magazine reading, says study

Social media have enhanced the experience of reading magazines, even among those who do not consider themselves avid magazine readers, according to a study conducted for the MPA, the [U.S.]Association of Magazine Media. The research, reported by Folio:, was conducted by GfK MRI and was done among millenial magazine readers -- agend 18 to 34.

What it found was that, while only 40% of the 1,019 respondents self-identified as "avid magazine readers", 95% of those read printed titles and 43% digital editions.

“The results of MPA’s new study clearly demonstrate that social media enriches the magazine reading experience, and that magazine media readers—on all platforms—are creating communities around and engaging with the magazines and editors they know and love,” Chris Kevorkian, MPA’s chief marketing and digital officer, says in a news release.

About 69% of respondents owned a smartphone, 41% a tablet device and 26% an e-reader.

It seems that magazine interaction through social media is a common practice among Millennials. About 56 percent of respondents say they follow a magazine on Twitter, and the same percentage say they follow a magazine on Pinterest, or re-pin content from a magazine. About 52 percent of total respondents have liked a magazine on Facebook, and 51 percent have re-tweeted an article from a magazine’s Twitter feed. A magazine’s editorial staff does also have some influence with Millennials, with 49 percent of all respondents saying they follow a magazine editor or columnist on Twitter.