By Hanna
Kozlowska September 11, 2019
Senior
citizens in the US are the fastest growing group of Facebook users, nearly
doubling in numbers between 2012 and 2019, a vast shift from the platform’s
beginnings as a service for college students.
New data
from the Pew
Research Center shows that 37% of the “Silent” generation, those born
before 1945, are now on Facebook, compared to 21% in 2012. Baby Boomers are
also increasingly on Facebook: 43% of the generation were on in 2012, whereas
60% have accounts in 2019. The numbers of Millennials and Gen-Xers on the
platform, meanwhile, have kept relatively steady.
More
users is good news for Facebook, but their age is less so, because it could
mean the platform will start losing users. Surveys have consistently shown
that—with
some exceptions—the youngest generation shuns Facebook in favor of other
platforms, including the Facebook owned-Instagram.
The new
Pew data also looked at the ownership of smartphones, which for those between
ages 74 and 91 is 40%. Meanwhile, 19% of Millennials are smartphone-only
internet users, meaning they do not have broadband service at home.
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