Older adults and social media

Older Adults + Social Networking Mary Madden Project GOAL Panel National Press Club October 18, 2011

About Pew Internet • Part of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan “fact tank” in Washington, DC • Studies how people use digital technologies • Does not promote specific technologies or make policy recommendations • Research is primarily based on nationally representative telephone surveys of adults

State of the Internet 2011• 74% of adults are online.• 56% use the internet on a typical day.• Broadband adoption has slowed – 6 in 10 adults have broadband at home.• Most who don’t have broadband at home don’t use the internet at all.

Home broadband adoption stable since 2009 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% June April March March April March March March April April May Sept. Nov. Jan. May 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2010 2010 2011 2011 Broadband Dial-up

Cell phone usage by different agesBased on adult cell owners 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+ (n=321) (n=535) (n=572) (n=430)Send or receive text messages 95% 85% 58% 24%Take a picture 91 81 60 37Access the internet 64 54 26 10Send a photo or video to someone 72 65 40 16Send or receive email 51 46 26 10Download an app 49 37 17 7Play a game 53 44 18 7Play music 58 39 16 4Record a video 53 42 19 3Access a social networking site 50 36 13 2Watch a video 44 32 10 3Post a photo or video online 37 26 9 5Check your bank balance or do any 29 22 10 6online bankingParticipate in a video call or video 14 5 2 2chat

Smartphone ownership is an inflection point • 35% of US adults own a smartphone • One in four smartphone owners say they mostly go online using their phone.

Social networking site use by age group, 2005-2011 100% 86% 83% 80% 76% 70% 67% 61% 60% 51% 18-29 49% 48% 47% 30-49 50-64 40% 65+ 33% 25% 25% 26% 20%9% 13% 11% 8% 7% 7% 6% 4% 0% 1% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

SNS use on a typical day by age group, 2005-2011 100% 80% 60% 61% 60% 51% 18-29 46% 30-49 38% 39% 50-64 40% 65+ 31% 32% 28% 20% 20% 15% 13% 9% 10% 2% 4% 4% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 0% 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Twitter use by age % of internet users within each group100% 13% of all online adults use Twitter80% Half of Twitter users access the service on60% a cell phone40% 19%20% 16% 18% 14% 9% 8% 7% 9% 8% 4% 4% 6% 0% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Nov 2010 May 2011

Motivations for social networking use • For adults ages 50+ staying in touch with family is the #1 reason they use SNS • For adults under age 50, staying in touch with friends is more important

Barriers to social networking use • Privacy management can be confusing (for everyone) • Security is still an issue and social media sites have unique vulnerabilities • Perception that social networking sites are primarily spaces for college kids and teens

Some Implications:  Relevance needs to outweigh risk  Relationships – particularly family connections – are key  Mobile connectivity changes people’s understanding of the internet as a “just-in- time” information resource

Thank you!Mary MaddenPhone: 202-419-4515Email: mmadden@pewinternet.orgTwitter: @mary_maddenWebsite: www.pewinternet.org

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Older adults and social media

by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

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