Google+ users spent only 3 minutes on site in January

Google+ might be heading for 100 million registered users but many of them appear to be spending almost no time on the service, market analysis company ComScore has reported.

According to figures made public through the Wall Street Journal, in January Google+ users spent a trifling average of three minutes using the site during the month, slightly lower than for December.

For perspective, Facebook managed almost seven hours per user in the same month, a gulf in use far more dramatic than mere subscriber numbers alone.

Elsewhere, Pinterest and Tumblr averaged 89 minutes, LinkedIn 17 minutes and MySpace only 8 minutes. Twitter, a popular site by any definition, managed 21 minutes.

Part of the difference could be down to the different way the sites are being used, with Facebook offering more that draws users into wasting spending time on the site.

The length of time Google+ has been around is also against it as it means it will have a smaller number of committed, heavy users that raise the activity averages ComScore is monitoring.

A less sociable zeitgeist might not be helping newcomers such as Google+. Last week a report noted that Facebook users appear to be becoming more choosy about who they friend, tightening up privacy settings and unfriending those they have little interest in. Two thirds of women now claim to set privacy to the highest level possible on the service.