Older Adults: Social Networks Are Not Just for the Young

Older people spend a lot of time on social networks. They allow them to keep in touch with family and friends or reconnect with old acquaintances. If Facebook is by far the most used platform, others such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok are also doing well. Clichés have become firmly entrenched in people’s consciousness. Social networks will be of interest to young people, who are much more inclined to embrace all the latest digital developments.

Research Sheds Light on Older Adults’ Online Habits

However, according to research conducted by OnePoll for ClearMatch Medicare, older adults also love larger platforms. To get a clearer picture, analysts surveyed 2,000 Americans aged 65 and older to better understand their online habits. Specifically, it shows that older adults spend an average of 47 minutes per day on these services, or about 300 hours per year. This is, of course, much less than the younger one, but far from insignificant.

Facebook Remains the Idol of Older People

In fact, 61% of older adults explain that they use these platforms to reconnect with old acquaintances, 54% do it simply to pass the time, and finally, 58% simply communicate with loved ones (family or friends). Another lesson from this survey: Facebook. Comment on as could be expected, it is supported by 75% of older people surveyed, YouTube second by 28% and ahead of Instagram by 10%. We also note that this study did not bypass face dark social networks.

Thus, 66% of respondents noted that these platforms exposed them to fraud attempts, and 33% reported that they fell into a trap. 34% even admit to falling for some fake news. End, on I can remember that the network social What’on Thoughts intended for young people are opening up more and more to older people: TikTok. Thus, this phenomenon was noticed by researchers recently in a study. Reuben Ng of Yale University recently explained on this topic:

“These TikTok old-timers have become successful content creators as part of a powerful countercultural phenomenon in which older people are challenging stereotypes about old age by celebrating their elderly status.”

Some very influential accounts have even more than 5 million followers. The striking power of the profiles studied by the scientists is impressive, as their content has been viewed more than 3.5 billion times. If you are interested in this topic, you can always re-read our article here.