College Students' Facebook Use Easing Up Over the Summer, While Parents Logging On in Record Numbers

As Facebook crosses the 70 million active US user mark this month, one surprising group of Facebook users is actually coming back less: college students. Facebook's audience amongst users 18-25 decreased by nearly 600,000 users (3%) in the last month, while their parents (and grandparents) are logging on in record numbers. While users 18-25 are still the largest age group on Facebook by far, college-age students and recent college grads are easing up on Facebook over the summer. Why? Now that most students are out of school and busy working, they may just have less time to keep up with friends than they do during the school year. However, as you can see, the number of US Facebook users over 35 grew significantly in the last 30 days, up by nearly 1.5 million in each of the 35-44, 45-54, and 55-65 categories. In fact, the number of US Facebook users 45-54 has more than tripled in the last 6 months, to a record 7.7 million active users today. Thus, it appears that recent dips in baby boomers' Facebook usage were only short-lived. Usage amongst users over 55 have just surpassed their March 2009 levels to reach all time highs - now, nearly 4.2 million Americans over 55 are logging into Facebook each month. The fastest growing group? Men over 55 - up 42% in the last month to nearly 1.5 million. The number of women over 55 on Facebook grew by 39% in the last month to over 2.5 million. Facebook users over 26 now represent 60% of the total US Facebook population - and users over 45 now represent nearly 1/5 of Facebook's US audience. In other words, Facebook now presents larger and larger marketing opportunities for brands interested in reaching older adults. Methodology All of these numbers are estimates provided by Facebook through its advertiser tools. We have been monitoring Facebook’s data closely over the last year. F48DAEB5-B814-972E-1FF4-476898DB4226 1.02.28

Social Pro Daily

College Students' Facebook Use Easing Up Over the Summer, While Parents Logging On in Record Numbers

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