According to a newly-released study by Pew Internet Research, social media use among internet users ages 50 and older has nearly doubled in the past year: from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010. During the same period, use among those ages 65 and older grew 100%–from 13% to 26%. You can read the full report here.
What does this mean? If your organization has been resisting expanding its communication strategy to include social networks because only younger people use them, it’s time to reconsider. The study noted that while email use among older adults still remains strong, many of them are beginning to “rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily communications.” The study also mentions that 1 in 10 adults ages 50-64 use Twitter now, up significantly from last year.
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