How frequently do sports fans comment on a game through social media?  The Center’s study of how sports fans access and use sports content explores a variety of answers.

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Many sports fans send messages through social media while watching an athletic event at home.  How common is the phenomenon and do some types of people do it more than others?

Overall a whopping 41% of fans (people who say they follow at least one sport in season) reported that they sometimes or often comment on games through social media.

The numbers differ little by sex. This activity involves 41% of males and 42% of females who said they comment sometimes or often on social media.

Looking at responses by race, white sports fans are least likely to often or sometimes comment on social media about games.  Thirty-eight percent of white respondents said that they comment on social media during a game often or sometimes, compared to 53% of Latinos, 54% of African-Americans, and 55% of Asians.

Responses also vary by age.  Those 25-34 (51%) and 18-24 (50%) are most likely to use social media this way often or sometimes, compared to those 35-54 (43%), younger than 18 (35%), 55-64 (31%), and 65-74 (30%).

Sports fans in the South (45%) are most likely to comment on a game through social media while watching it at home often or sometimes, while those from the Northeast (36%) are least likely. In the Midwest 38% and in the West 43% comment sometimes or often.

And not surprisingly, intense sports fans (58%) are most likely to use social media to comment during a game often or sometimes, followed by moderate fans (42%) and casual fans (35%).

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October 17, 2017