Baby Boomers and Social Networking

A Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that teens and young adults using social networking sites are quickly being dominated by the older population, who have, like us, become “facebook addicts”.

Between April 2009 and May, the percentage of internet users 50 and up who said they use social-networking sites has risen from 22 percent to 42 percent, according to the survey by the Pew Research Center. Respondents 65 and older reported a 100 percent increase, while those between 50 and 64 jumped 88 percent. Overall, it shows that 35% of adult Internet users now have a profile on at least one social networking site. And among online adults ages 35-44, 30% have a profile.

Older users say that the main reason they have decided to “give in” to the social networking hype, is keeping in touch with family and friends. For the older generation, social networks are a great way to get in touch with people they haven't heard from or spoken to in years. The younger generation seems to use social networking sites to connect with current friends, but adults want to catch up with people they were friends with in the past and previously had no way of contacting them. It is interesting to see that technology has finally caught up to the older generation. From my experience, my mother did not know a thing when it came to the internet or even using a computer. Now she is on Facebook and MySpace and checks it almost every day to see pictures of her friends’ vacations, or children, etc. It must be fascinating to the older generation (especially those who are sort of technologically challenged); to reconnect with old or even long lost friends over the internet.

Sources:

CNN.com- Older users flocking to Facebook by Dough Gross, Twitter http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/08/27/older.users.social.networks/index.html

ReadWriteWeb: More adults than ever on social networks by Sarah Perez http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/more_adults_than_ever_on_socia.php