Boomers Embracing Social Media

More young people are seeing their parents and grandparents on social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The rate of people over 50 interacting on social media websites is growing at a startling pace. A survey by the Pew Research Center found that social networking among internet users 50 and older nearly doubled, from 22 percent in April 2009 to 42 percent in May 2010.

For those ages 65 and older, use of social networking websites grew 100 percent. By comparison, the number of internet users from 18 to 29 who use social networking websites only rose by a dismal 13 percent.

"E-mail 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," explains Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist and author of the report.

Older Americans are becoming increasingly computer literate, and that means they're also becoming more comfortable using the Internet. This has the potential to boost e-commerce, computer and gadget sales as well as subscriptions for high-speed Internet access among this population.

The promise of social networking — as a tool that can enable people to share photos, videos, links, contacts and status updates — has some unique applications for senior Americans.

"E-mail is still at the center of older adults' social communications," says Mary Madden, senior research specialist for the Pew Internet & American Life Project. But she says social networking is supplementing their daily communications, and once they start, they are using it more frequently.

Most older adults have been introduced to social networking by their children, Madden says. This has the potential for strengthening family ties across generations.

The Pew report also found that social networking users are much more likely to reconnect with people from their past. These contacts can build and enhance support networks as people begin a second career or near retirement.
The appeal of social networking for older Americans may also be related to managing health issues. Blogging and contributing to online health forums or listservs are popular activities for some people coping with a serious illness. The Pew report found that people living with a chronic disease are more likely to reach out for support online.

Popular online destinations for Seniors according to AARP says the top four online activities for people over 60 are Google, Facebook, Yahoo and YouTube.

Twitter use has also grown. Ten percent of Internet users over 50 say they're using Twitter or other status update services, according to Pew.

Despite the rise in social networking activities, Pew's research found that seniors over 65 are among those least likely to have high-speed Internet access at home — less than one-third of them have broadband.

It’s no secret that adults aged 50-plus are the Internet’s largest and fastest-growing constituency. And their slow but steady adoption of social networks is allowing them to flex the muscle behind the force. When it comes to retirement, baby boomers aren’t finished with the revolution. Prior to online networks, a person’s social circle degraded as they aged, and now they can maintain and increase their social connections online. Boomers are able to be active, socially connected, and powerful spenders in retirement like no generation before.

Baby boomers have a unique relationship to technology—different than any generation before or since—and they are actively shaping the devices, software and services of tomorrow by the choices they are making today. This is a generation intent on defining the future for itself.

Additional reading:

In Your Facebook: Social Sites are Everywhere

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