A Cre8asite Forums thread is buzzing about social media, where a forum member asks if bounce rates are higher than from other traffic sources.
It really depends on the audience and the content. Someone might go to a site and want to know more. Others might just keep clicking the "Stumble" button repeatedly until their phone call ends. Others are intrigued by a headline on Digg, might then access the page, but will then return to Digg. A number of factors come into play here.
Some people are actually seeing lower bounce rates from social media sites (22% as opposed to 50%), which is substantial. If you have the good content, then take advantage of it. :)
But what else could be involved in that metric? It is possible that the searcher didn't find what he wanted for the particular search phrase since many terms have multiple meanings. When you're in a mode for performing a social search, you're likely to meander. Again, there are a lot of factors including the mindset.
Forum discussion continues at Cre8asite Forums.
