It’s a beautiful Sunday morning. The sun is shining and the birds outside are chirping soothing tunes. Grandma and Grandpa are lying in bed and are awakened by their grandchildren jumping into bed with them, which puts a large smile on their faces. On her night table is Grandma’s iPhone which she picks up. After taking a snapshot of her two cute grandchildren, Grandma posts the photo to Twitter with the caption “My grandchildren are the cutest, what a great way to wake up in the morning.”
Three years ago, the iPhone and Twitter aspect of this scenario would never have happened. However, in the past few years, the number of Baby Boomers using captivated by social media marketing, and actually using these tools, has drastically increased.
Pew Internet recently released data from a study they conducted on this matter. The following are some of the highlighted statistics:
- From April 2009 to May 2010 the usage of social networking in adults 50-64 has increased 88%
- In the past year social networking in users 18-29 only grew 13%
- 20% of online adults (50-64) use social networking on a daily basis
- In 2009 only 4% of adults logged into social networking sites daily, in 2010 it is 13%
This just goes to show that even Grandma and Grandpa can be “hip and with it” when it comes to new technologies, even though it may take them longer than the average 18-29 year old to fully understand the technology. The Baby Boomer generations are certainly trying to keep themselves up to date with new technologies.