Break open the Grecian 2000 – Facebook’s going grey
In 2008, 28% of social network users were between the ages of 18 and 22 but those figures have dropped. Now just 16% of users fall into that age range, reveals a recent Pew study. Similarly, the proportion of 23 to 35 year olds has dropped.
Things look somewhat different at the other end of the age scale as connected parents and grandparents seep on to the social networks. While less than 10% of social network users were age between 50 and 65 back in 2008 that figure has now doubled.
Even the comparatively small number of users age 65 and over has swelled three-fold from 2% in 2008 to today’s 6%.
The end result is the average age of an American user on social networking sites has risen – from 33 in 2008 to 38 in 2010.
That’s great news for brands targeting the grey brigade and who have previously avoided the social space for fear their target audience weren’t present.
Earlier this year one of Britain’s most influential social networks for moms launched a new site specifically aimed at the UK’s 14 million or so grandparents. The country’s increasingly connected grandparents are now spending on average 42 hours a month online, says Mumsnet.
As the number of grandparents on Mumsnet grew it became clear that a separate site was needed, and Gransnet was born.
Current topics of discussion on Gransnet range from how to cover up unsightly upper arms and knitting patterns to how to stop the grandchildren from trashing garden borders.
