by Sophie Blackshaw, Editor of The Retiree Magazine
We know social media is a powerful tool – that much has been proven. We’ve also come to assume that “young people” are social media’s biggest users and fans. This may have been factual at one point, but the extent to which that statement rings true has altered in recent years. From an anecdotal standpoint, there are a noticeable number of “older adults” using social media – primarily Facebook. We’re talking those aged 50 and over.
Why? While so many older users seem set against Facebook’s very concept, others have embraced it wholeheartedly. Reasons for the influx of older users can mostly be put down to a single, but very human, reason – to better connect with family and friends, especially the younger generations. A study carried out in 2013 by the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta in the United States supports this answer. The results, which were derived from a survey of over 142 older adults (aged between 52-92), revealed that while there was no significant difference in loneliness between those who used Facebook and those who didn’t, the Facebook users did score higher when it came to confidence with technology and social satisfaction.
It is important to remember at this time, however, that Facebook, for older adults, is still very much in its early period, just as it once was for young people. Over time, the reasons for logging on and spending time on Facebook – as an example of just one social media “outlet” or “tool” – have changed enormously. Where once the site could almost have been considered a “location” for younger people to connect, it now tends to function for many younger people as a place to simply “scroll and be entertained”. Whether that entertainment occurs via the consumption of viral videos and image uploads, or through clicking on links to stories with tabloid headlines on external sights is up to the individual. What is clear, though, is that Facebook’s primary reason for use among younger people has morphed. It has become a source for fast “news”, feeding and sustaining an image-hungry younger generation.
How quickly the primary reason older adults use social media remains to be seen. Will social media (Facebook in particular), in time actually reduce the amount of interaction that occurs between friends and family, as it has done for younger people? Will the older generations come to use Facebook in the same way their children and grandchildren use it?
A key point of difference between the older and younger generations that must be considered is the number of social media “tools” being used. As mentioned earlier, while older generations are still in the discovery period (creating Facebook profiles for the first time), younger generations have had their attention divided by the invention and adoption of other faster, more mobile-friendly social media tools. Instagram and Snapchat have truly stolen the show here. They deliver news and personal information purely through image and video. They have created what was so obviously enjoyed and desired for by the younger generations, whether they knew it consciously or not.
How, and if, the older generations come to use either of those two social media applications depends on two things; if their social interaction needs are saturated on social media (Facebook) and if their technological confidence continues to grow. The latter should certainly not be underestimated. The former can further be broken down – will older adults adopt Instagram and Snapchat to follow and maintain “modern” contact with their young relatives, or will it be, ultimately, for entertainment?
As Frank N Magid Associates found in their 2014 Social Media Study, which polled 1934 social media users aged between 13-64, “social network use looks to be peaking, but the way people are engaging with social media networks is still changing rapidly”.
“Most of the major social networks began as platforms to facilitate connections with friends, family, celebrities, and brands … Now they have become comprehensive mobile ecosystems, driven by increasing consumer adoption of social commerce, media content, and user-generated photos and videos.”
The study also noted that “smartphones are now the primary device used to access most major social networks, fundamentally altering the social media status quo”.
In summary – to continue a close study of, and to understand the reasons that older adults are using social media, is crucial for companies looking to follow and capture an older audience.