More older adults and less young people on Facebook

In 2013, people o 65 years old or older were the demographic group that  grew up the most in several social networks  in the United States, including Facebook and Twitter, an increase that contrasts with a slight decline in the number of the younger users, according to a survey carried out by the Pew Research Center.

According to Pew, 71% of American Internet users have a profile on Facebook, which is 4% more compared to the  end of 2012, but this increase is solely due to people older than 30 years and, above all, its expansion among the over 65s. The percentage of this latter group of users grew by 10% last year.

This increase contrasts with the decrease of 2% (86% to 84% from  2012 to 2013) in users aged 18 to 29, which led to the success of this platform in the beginning.

Although young people remain as the main followers of this network, its potential growth is higher in the elderly. In this way, young people  not only share virtual space with their parents, but also with their grandparents.

Tammy Gordon, Vice President of the American Association of retired persons, highlights that elders use smartphones or tablets, play video games and buy online, just like young people, and, like them, rely on social networks to keep in touch with family or friends.

“They want to be involved in the world, and technology is a way to do it”, according to Thomas Kamber, director and founder of the Center for technology services for older adults. “Three years ago almost no retiree knew how to use a computer, Now they do. And know how to handle Facebook is the next step,”said Kamber.