According to SEO experts at brand.com, reviews of new statistics indicate that younger generations are no longer the only avid social media users.
From websites to mobile applications, technology has taught America’s youngest and brightest how to stay connected while on the go. Although these social media platforms have seen extreme success with youth users, they often struggled to resonate with older audiences. It seems that older audiences may have figured out a way to catch up as they make more and more efforts to use social media. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of adults use social media in the United States. The figures represent a 5 percent increase since 2005 when Pew first began to study social media use.
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project conducted in-depth surveys between 2005 and 2013 to determine social media usage statistics in America. The study tracked nearly 2,000 adult Internet users whose primary language was either English or Spanish. Researchers conducted their interviews over the phone and reported a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
A whopping 89 percent of Americans ages 18 to 29 reported that they are actively using social media, while 78 percent of adults between 30 and 49 are social media users. About 43 percent of Americans who are over the age of 65 are using some type of social media in their lives on a daily basis.
According to brand management firm brand.com, reviews of the statistics indicate that the rise in older adult social media use has been dramatic over the last few years. American adults over the age of 65 have tripled their social networking tendencies within the past four years.
This spike represents an increase from 13 percent to 43 percent in just a few short years. According to brand.com, reviews of social media usage by older adults produce essential information for businesses looking to optimize their image for multiple age levels.
Researchers note that business-related activities account for a fair portion of social networking habits for these older social media users. One of the main attractions comes from the ability to share professional information easily through social networks.
The largest user gap occurred when researchers measured Twitter usage. Less than 5 percent of Americans over the age of 65 have active Twitter accounts. People who live in rural areas are far less likely to engage in Twitter conversations.
As a leader in the field of brand management, brand.com reviews client social media utilization to ensure that professionals are optimally employing these networking tools. Many individuals and businesses neglect their Twitter accounts and miss out on a valuable young audience.
Older generations have tended to prefer hand-written letters or long telephone conversations in order to stay in touch. Families that are separated by a fair amount of distance often utilize social media to share photographs. For instance, a grandmother in Illinois can stay abreast of her grandchildren’s activities by starting a Facebook account. The account allows her to see up-to-date pictures of her grandchildren while communicating with a tool that is more comfortable for the kids.
Whether for business or pleasure, as brand.com reviews, over the last few years, the older generation has become more aware of the immense communication possibilities associated with social media.