Trend of people older than 40 taking to social networking is growing fast
- 28m Facebook users above the age of 45
- 26.4% share of Facebook's global user base is people aged 35 to 64
- 75% people above 40 in Gulf News poll use Facebook 'to connect with old friends'
Dubai Concerned with being the "coolest"? No. Trying to collect thousands of friends? Not really. Posting status updates by the hour? Definitely not.
These responses represent Facebook's fastest growing demographic, and it's not who you think it is. More and more people above 40 years old are logging onto Facebook.
Over 28 million people active on Facebook are above the age of 45, which is equal to more than half of the 50 million young adult (18-25) demographic, according to Social Media Today, an online community of PR and advertising professionals.
In 2011, it reported people between ages 35 to 64 years old make up 26.4 per cent of Facebook's global users — that's well over 200 million active users.
Contrary to what many people think, Facebook isn't just for high school and college students anymore. When Gulf News asked its readers above the age of 40 in an online poll why they use Facebook, 75 per cent responded they used it "to connect with old friends".
Yolanda Al Shammari, a Panama national, said: "I am 46 years old and I have been using Facebook for three years now. My page is always open and I check it around three or four times a day from my cell phone."
Al Shammari started using Facebook when a friend told her how he got in touch with old childhood friends and family.
She said: "I've been finding school and childhood friends because all of my family live in another country. This is the channel for me to stay in touch with them."
Ann Al Sakar is another regular Facebook user in this demographic. She said: "I use it everyday to stay in touch with my family and friends."
Account
When her friends and family members started using Facebook, Al Sakar got interested and created an account.
Ramachandran Nair, 43, has also been using Facebook for a couple of years. While Nair is not extremely active on his account, he uses it every week to keep in touch with his family and friends living in India, the US, and Australia.
He said: "I realised Facebook's value only when a close friend of mine, who is currently in the US, asked for my account details on Facebook."
They now stay in touch, sharing pictures and updates on each other's life and family. He said: "Ideally, my friends and I are well connected through Facebook and that gives everyone peace of mind."
Ian Hicks, a 61-year-old teacher, learned about Facebook through his daughter. He said: "My daughter got me onto Facebook. I found a few old friends and reconnected with people. As a teacher, I network with former students I taught in the UK so I keep in touch with them."
Vinod Balan also uses Facebook to find and reconnect with friends, old or new. He said: "I will be hitting 40 in a couple of years. I use Facebook everyday, spending about an hour each evening catching up with my friends.
"I have been able to find almost 200 of my old school friends, many of whom I had totally lost touch with for more than 20 years!"
Whereas younger Facebook users boast about their 700 'friends' on Facebook or post new profile pictures every day, the older demographic has realised the practicality of Facebook as a communication tool, using it mostly to stay in touch with their loved ones.
Al Shammari said: "I love to see pictures of my friends and family enjoying their life. I can also see news headlines from around the world and be updated. It is like going around the world in 60 minutes. It is simply amazing."
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