Two-thirds of the US online population are connecting with friends and family on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn but only a few say they use these networks to search for a romantic partner.

A study by the Pew Research Center that sought to determine why Americans use social networks found that staying in touch with current friends is the primary reason why 67% percent of all social networkers in the US log on to such sites. 

Connecting with family members and reconnecting with old friends is also a major motivation for 64% and 50% of social networking adults respectively. 

When it comes to making new friends online only nine percent of adults maintain that it is a major reason for logging on. Five percent of those surveyed said that following updates by celebrities was a major attraction to the sites and just three percent said they primarily went online to find romantic or dating partners. 

According to the study most social media users are not looking for love online -- even single social media users would prefer to connect with friends than to search for a potential date on social networking sites. 

“Very few social media users say that finding potential romantic partners or people to date plays a role in their use of these sites -- overall more than eight in ten (84%) do not use these sites for that purpose at all,” said Pew. 

“Among those users who identify themselves as single, separated or divorced, 6% say that finding romantic or dating partners is a major reason why they use these sites (an additional 27% say that this is a minor reason for their social media usage),” added Pew.