Social Media Tools & Family

One day it happened.  I received this enigmatic “add me” from my dad on Facebook!

But why are older people using this with such regularity?  The adoption of Baby Boomers is happening in a way MySpace would have loved to have experienced years ago.

According to eMarketer, about 47% of online boomers maintain a Facebook profile on at least one social network, according to several sources. By all accounts, Twitter is not very popular with this demographic.  And Boomers don’t read blogs: the number of blog reader/writers was below 10%.  49% of boomers use online reviews and recommendations on a retailer’s site to make their purchase, but only 9% looked to other blogs or communities for recommendations.

In the eMarketer study, an interesting result is that Boomers cite “creating and renewing personal connections online” as the biggest draw to social networks.  This certainly corroborates with why my parents started using Facebook.

1. My dad thinks “Why use this Social Network when I have email?”
2. After hearing all about it from former students, he begins to research it a bit more.
3. His impression is surprise when the “recommended friends” list magically provides him with a list of old friends he hasn’t seen in years.
4. Then he delves deep into Facebook, staying up late-nights to play with it.
5. Eventually it all becomes part of his daily Facebook routine, starting with a cup of coffee and the click of his mouse.