As a social media enthusiast and a 50-something (not much more than that, mind you!) woman who is on the tail end of the Boomer generation, a recent article I saw on ReadWriteWeb that interested me.
Not because I’m a baby-boomer. But because I have trouble understanding boomers who aren’t using social media. As a mother of two grown daughters and a gramma of a five-year-old granddaughter (with another granddaughter about three days from due), I find social media the best way to keep up with what’s going on in their lives.
But I also found it’s a good way to explore my world. ”I know, I heard it on Facebook” is a daily part of my vocabulary. Because, you know what I’ve found? A lot of stuff I need to know is being commented on by my FB friends.
And then there’s the blogging. I’m an addict. I have two. You’re reading one of them.
I think the best part is that I have several friends that I connected with via my blogs or on Facebook…people that I admire and find immensely entertaining that I care about…even though I’ve never met them.
But what surprised me about this article by Sarah Perez is that more boomers than I think are using social media. This article says,
“…apparently Baby Boomers aren’t exactly the technology Luddites that people think they are. In fact, more than 60 percent of those in this generational group actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, podcasts, and forums. What’s more, the percentage of those participating is on the rise.”
Surprised? I was too. Check out the rest of the article and let me know if the information in it surprised you too.
Although I’m not nearly as involved in social media as you are, I can’t imagine not having email, Facebook, Tweeter, or blogs. That’s the main way that I keep up with everything going on in the lives of people that I care about. I get to see pictures of babies just minutes after they’re born, find out instantly if a friend is in the hospital, or gather some friends for a last-minute get together. It’s just an entirely different way of life than the way it was just a few short years ago. Although it’s a struggle sometimes to keep up with all the changes, the numbers of Boomers getting on board will only increase. For those who don’t, they just don’t know what they’re missing. (By the way, I’m not crazy about being labeled an “Older Boomer”!)
LOL! Thanks for the comment, Susan. But I know what you mean about the labels…”older” ANYthing isn’t something I want to hear in relation to my age!
But I totally concur with what you’re saying about keeping up with everyone. It’s just an easy way to see what’s going on with the people you care about. And, I’ve found, it gives me MORE to talk to my friends about when I see them…because I know what’s going on in their lives!
My parents are on Facebook now…my kids said, “You need to get grandma and grandad on Facebook so they can keep up with what’s going on and so they won’t have to email pictures of their trips”. In the end, it was my sister who got them there and, they’re not on it much, but they get it…”If I want to see pictures of the kids more often, I need to check Facebook!”