Facebook: Adult Attraction

Photo Credit: photo from creativecommons.org

Facebook has become increasingly popular for older demographics

October 8, 2009

Gianna Maietta and Alex Bolino, Staff Reporters  

Filed under Features

On any given day, hundreds of millions of people return home from school or work to log in to their Facebook accounts. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Facebook is a social networking site that people use to catch up with old friends, share pictures, and make new friends. It is a tool that you may use to remain connected to other classmates and family.

Many high school students who use the site assume that their parents are only on Facebook to check up on them, so they are not aware of the gigantic growth of adults on the site, other than, of course, their parents.  But of Facebook’s reported 300 million active users, 36.3 percent are over the age of 35. This might not seem like much, but their numbers have been quadrupling in the past year.

In fact, in June 2008, people between the ages of 18 and 24 made up 53 percent of the Facebook community, but in July of this year, they totaled only 25.1 percent. They went from comprising a small majority to only one fourth of the website’s users. Their numbers have remained generally stable, while those between 35 and 54 years old grew 190.2 percent. They almost tripled in number over the course of a year. Even more surprisingly, Facebook went from having 954,680 users over 55 years old to 5,859,160. Almost 5 million people over the age of 55 have joined Facebook in the past six months.

Many may not know this, but our own Presentation teachers are contributing to the growth of adults on Facebook. Many like Mr. and Mrs. Cozort, Ms. Raposa, Mrs. Livingston, and Mrs. Stampfl all use Facebook to stay in touch with old friends from high school and college. “It’s really neat to find people you haven’t seen in fifteen years and see what they are up to,” Mrs. Livingston said.

Although they all use the site for varying reasons, all of them appreciate the ability to find old friends. They also dislike the same aspects. Mrs. Stampfl and Mrs. Cozort both shared their aversion to the new format of the site, but were able to adjust quickly. Mrs. Stampfl is happy with Facebook because she can contact her friends without worrying about interrupting them or calling at an inconvenient time. However, she also has some grievances with the site. She dislikes being updated on people’s progress in games or quiz results in her news feed. She also said, “I also don’t like receiving 10 different types of gift applications for which I need to install another application.  I hit ignore for most of them.” Computer teacher and track/cross country coach Mr. Cozort said, “I don’t like all the superfluous content like mafia wars, polls, causes etc.  I feel it takes away from the nature of a social environment rather than enhancing it.” Despite this, Mr. Cozort uses the site for somewhat different reasons. He said, “Social technologies are the tools that students use to communicate, and I feel as educators we have a professional obligation to learn to communicate with students in whatever language they are speaking.” So, instead of using Facebook for other purposes, he uses it as a way of communication that all students use. Unlike the other teachers, he also uses Twitter and Linkedin.

People of all ages are joining Facebook quickly, for example, Mrs. Livingston’s mother created one this summer. Some teachers are using Facebook to answer any questions their own peers may have.  Mrs. Livingston described Facebook as, “a great source of information for me as a new mom as I am able to post questions to all my friends who are moms out there and get responses back.”

Others, like Mrs. Cozort, who is both a social butterfly and a coach, use Facebook for talking with friends and contacting those involved with swim teams. She enjoys constantly keeping up on what everyone is doing through her iPhone and networking with other coaches. She says that Facebook is a great and easy way to congratulate former students on the new house, or the new baby.

Mrs. Raposa said, “When I was in high school, the internet as we know it didn’t exist.” She, as well as our other teachers, describes the site as a fun experience. They appreciate being able to get in contact with friends from their past that ended up going to different schools or moving away.

Since the website appeals to various different interests, our teachers also differ in how often they visit.  Mrs. Cozort said, “I’m on FB all the time- mostly on my iPhone though.” Mr. Cozort, in contrast, uses the site once every couple of weeks. When asked about how much she uses Facebook, Mrs. Livingston said “my husband would say I’m on Facebook too much, but that’s just because he wants to check his!”

With a growing population of new users, Facebook is no longer just available to current high school and college students. Parents of students have been joining recently, sparking a large increase in Facebook members. To Pres teachers, Facebook is obviously a great way to reconnect with old classmates or to just keep in touch with family members in or out-of-state. Facebook has allowed people of all ages like our own Pres teachers to update their contacts with what’s going on their life. Talking with new friends or catching up on the latest news with old friends and family is also available courtesy of Facebook.

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Tags: facebook, social networking, teachers