Social media use doubles amongst over 50's in 12 months.

Online social network use has doubled in the past 12 months amongst the over 50's, and it is estimated there are more than 16 million people aged over 55 using Facebook in the US alone, with up to 15% of the over 55’s using smartphones according to Edelman Digital.

This trend is also apparent in Australia, which is why we redesigned the Seniors Housing Online website to enable visitors to share content using Facebook, Twitter and Delicious as well as by traditional email. In addition major national advertisers are now recognising and targeting this demographic (note the recent APIA and Cruiseabout ads on this website) as they've shifted into online campaigns to follow their consumers.

We’ve seen a big shift in Australian seniors, and especially babyboomers, using the internet in the past few years, and now they’re using social networking applications in a big way, so we’ve had to keep up with our audience too. Even older seniors are now using Facebook to connect with family and friends, firmly dispelling the outdated perception that older people don’t use the internet!

See more on the Seniors Housing Online News page.