Social Media Use by Older Adults

The Pew Research Center has published a report called "Older Adults and Social Media".  This report was based on a phone survey of 1,756 adults.  Here are some highlights from this report:

•  Social networking use by internet users age 50 and above, has nearly doubled in the last year - from 22% to 42%.
• 47% of internet users age 50-64 use social networking sites
• 26% for internet users age 65+ use social networking sites.
• 11% of internet users age 50-64 post status updates on twitter or other sites.
• 5% of internet users age 65+ post status updates on twitter or other sites.
• 92% of internet users age 50-64 use email and 89% of internet users age 65+ use email.

The Pew Report gave some suggestions for why older adults have begun social networking: 

• to reconnect with past associates to network to find a new job or career.
• to find support online if the older adult has a chronic disease.
• to interact with grandchildren and other family members, who may live far away.  According to this report, "... social media bridges generational gaps."(p. 7).  It provides a place where people of all ages can interact and learn from one another.

The full report can be found here.