The use of social media is beginning to creep into the workplace, according to a survey released last week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Among the general online population, 29 percent of adults report using a social or professional networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn. Among employed Internet users, 35 percent use such sites. Most employees say they use social networking sites at home, but 10 percent reported using them at least sometimes at their workplaces.

It’s no surprise that the use of social networking sites is higher among young people. Three-fourths of employed Internet users ages 18 to 29 frequent such sites, while only 30 percent of those ages 30 to 49 use them.

Younger workers also read blogs more than their older co-workers. Forty-six percent of adults ages 18-29 read blogs, but only 33 percent of adults ages 30-49 do so. Overall, 11 percent of workers say they have read blogs from their workplace computers.

Although the researchers don’t say so, it’s probably safe to assume that the online social networking and blog reading is not company-sanctioned. In other words, employees aren’t reading company-owned blogs and using corporate social networking tools. The reason I believe this is a safe assumption is because the vast majority of companies don’t have their own blogs or social networking sites -- not yet, anyway.

I believe the day is coming, however, when online social networking in the workplace will be as common as e-mail. There was a time not many years ago -- in the previous generation, in fact -- when e-mail was not widely used by employers. As e-mail became more and more accessible to the growing number of people who were online in the late 1980s and early 1990s, business leaders worried about people wasting time on e-mail if it was ever introduced to the workplace. I’m sure the same worries accompanied the introduction of the telephone to offices several generations ago.

The fact is, however, that these technologies have found their way into the mainstream of the corporate world and now we can’t imagine life without them. The same Pew survey finds that 80 percent of wired workers say technologies such as the Internet, e-mail and cell phones improve their ability to do their job.

As the survey indicates, younger workers are especially comfortable with social media. They have grown up with social networking sites as a way to stay connected to friends and family. They read blogs to stay informed and to express ideas and opinions. They take these technologies for granted and now, as employees, they are beginning to expect their employers to offer the same tools in the workplace.

Some leading-edge companies like e-bay, Sun Microsystems, Southwest Airlines and IBM already use social media. It will take some time for everything to shake out and for the real benefits of these tools to become evident. But the time is coming when they will be as widely used as the telephone and e-mail.

Robert J. Holland owns Holland Communication Solutions LLC in Mechanicsville. He works with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses to help them develop communication programs that support business goals. He is also available to speak to business groups about workplace communication. You can reach him at robert@hollandcomm.com, at www.hollandcomm.com, or by calling (804) 368-0312.