My Mom AND Dad Are On Facebook, Weird? Think Again

2009 February 3
by Grace Boyle

I can easily say that I’m ‘Facebook Loyal’ because I was just beginning college when Facebook came onto the scene in 2004 and exclusively opened up to Mark Zuckerberg’s own, Harvard University. Then as everyone knows, expanded to colleges in the Boston area and Ivy League’s. I went to college in Burlington, Vermont, so I was close to the action you could say. In early 2005 I was on Facebook as soon as Champlain College was in. I was immediately hooked and it’s safe to say it has forever changed how I interact and connect online, even popular culture.

Now, in my post-college days while still remaining a proud Generation Y girl, I have a lot of friends who don’t understand how it’s now opened up publicly. They miss the days when it was just college students (maybe I do too, sometimes). Friends still feel weird that their mom is on Facebook, while I try to tell them it’s the norm and so is having your boss, your extended family, etc. You can always choose to decline their ‘friendship’ via Facebook, but that’s another story entirely. Plus, those of my friends lacking the online digital finesse have to realize anything you put online is public and out there for good. Deal with it.

Sometimes, they won’t take my word for it. So of course, this is also backed with data (here comes the geek again) which is best represented on Inside Facebook. Their most recent study found that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women over the age of 55.

Key Highlights

  • Facebook reporting nearly 45.3 million active US users in the last 30 days
  • Facebook growing in every age/gender demographic. Fastest growing segment: Women over 55, up 175.3% in the last 120 days.
  • Facebook growing faster with women than men in almost every age group. Women comprise 56.2% of Facebook’s audience, up from 54.3% late last year.
  • 45% of Facebook’s US audience is now 26 years old or older.
And yes, both my Mom and Dad are on Facebook. Times are a changin’
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from → Generation Y

  • lenoraboyle

    Hey! This is Grace's mom and my old college friends from 30 years ago are finding me on Facebook. We're having fun. Even today my neighbor asked me to be her friend on Facebook because we hardly ever see each other, so this way we can keep in touch with each other.

  • http://zebida.com/main/ Hesham

    Well .. they say it's social world :)

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.blogspot.com Grace Boyle

    @lenora (mom) I knew you would stop on by. You're getting the hang of Facebook and now even interacting with most of your friends on it. @Hisham is right, it's a social world!

  • http://modite.com/blog Rebecca

    My entire family is on Facebook including my 79 year old Aunt. They all love it, and I'm proud of them for being so savvy. And my mom loves it to keep up with me and to back up all her photos :)

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.blogspot.com Grace Boyle

    @Rebecca So true, I feel proud that their savvy. It's also interesting to note that it's not super techy, it's relatively user friendly and just a fantastic way to stay in touch.

  • http://www.cowgirlswest.blogspot.com Jacqueline

    I had read those stats about facebook as well. I was shocked but, I also think that technology is increasingly trying to cater to older generations as well as make applications easier for the non- tech savvy population :)

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.blogspot.com Grace Boyle

    @Jackie Jo Good point to where technology caters to a crowd that is 30 and older. It's important if they do, and really, it should become widespread!

  • http://www.smallhandsbigideas.blogspot.com Grace Boyle

    @Jackie Jo Good point to where technology caters to a crowd that is 30 and older. It's important if they do, and really, it should become widespread!