The older generations of Americans are getting with the flow. Whereas online social networks were originally set up, run and used primarily by the young and the hip, you are now much more likely than ever before to find Great Aunt Matilda hobnobbing with cronies and asking to be friends with your pals on Facebook. She might even be Tweeting!
A report just out from the Pew Internet & American Life Project reveals that social media usage among folks 65 years and older doubled between 2009 and 2010. In the 50 to 64 age group, it went up 88 percent.
Now nearly two-thirds of all U.S. adults are involved in social networking online. Twitter has also experienced a jump in use by older Americans: Pew says that 11% of the 50-64 crowd and 5% of the 65+ crowd use Twitter or a similar service.
The survey run by Pew was taken in May. According to Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and author of the report:
“Young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, but their growth pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users… Email is still the primary way that older users maintain contact with friends, families and colleagues, but many older users now rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily communications.”
- One in five (20%) online adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up from 10% one year ago.
- Among adults ages 65 and older, 13% log on to social networking sites on a typical day, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009.
Fifty year old Nancy Erlich, a Pennsylvania elementary school teacher, told CNN:
“It definitely has changed my whole life — that’s how significant Twitter is to me,” said Ehrlich, who now regularly chats with educators around the world and helps host a weekly forum for them on the micro-blogging site. “At first, I didn’t really get it. But I just kept watching it and, before you knew it, I was hooked.”
Tags: demographics, Facebook, senior citizens, Twitter