Today’s senior population is exploding at historic levels. According to the U.S. Administration on Aging, the senior population numbered 37.3 million in 2006, or 12.4% of the U.S. population, and is expected to reach 20% of the population by 2030. With advances in modern science and medicine lowering mortality rates, the worldwide senior population is expected to grow to 2 billion by 2050¹.
So what does all that mean for social media?
When it comes to the Web, many boomers and senior caretakers are just as tech-savvy as their younger counterparts–and senior-focused social media sites are quickly rising in response to the needs of this rapidly-growing segment of the population.
Seniors are faced with a number of unique challenges, including financial planning and retirement, health care, changing housing needs, grandparenting, and more. Today there are a whole host of social community websites that focus on the specific needs and concerns of seniors, as well as present marketers an opportunity to reach them.
Below we’d like to highlight three such sites aimed towards this powerful, growing market:
Eons.com
Alexa traffic rank: 16,859 … Pagerank: 6/10
Eons.com is an online community for Boomers with emphasis on social networking – finding and keeping in touch with friends and family. Users can set up profiles to share information with others, share photos and videos, join groups of others that share common interests and play games.
Growing Bolder
Alexa traffic rank: 259,621 … Pagerank: 5/10
Focused on the growing age 50+ Boomer market (but open to all ages), Growing Bolder features videos, video logs “vlogs”, audio podcasts, photo galleries, forums and blogs.
ELDR.com
Alexa traffic rank: 645,920 … Pagerank: 4/10
ELDR.com is an active site featuring articles, interviews, photography, blogs and links to other senior-related websites. The authors bring a lively and often edgy perspective to aging, covering a gamut of topics from grandparenting and senior living to finances and activism.
The three sites mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the volume of social communities and other niche sites capitalizing on today’s active seniors. Even mega-popular social media site Facebook is host to a senior community that’s expanding rapidly: according to blog InsideFacebook, which tracks the Facebook platform for developers and marketers, reports that women over 55 are the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook. Our grandmothers have moved beyond the email forwards and are now participating actively in social media, reading blogs, watching YouTube videos, even Twittering–and marketers should be taking notice!
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I think social media can be a good tool for senior citizens across geographies to be connected and sharing their experiences. With the world becoming one global village, there are lot of issues that are common to senior citizens, spanning continents.
Great post. I just started using social media a year ago and have explored so many different sites but was unaware of the senior/boomer sites that are available. Thanks for the great info. I’ll have to share it with my readers.
There is no question that the senior market is growing rapidly. It is not surpising to me to see so many seniors embracing social media especilly with all of the enhancements in SM sites making it so easy to use these great tools. Thanks for the great post. As always WA is on the mark!
Thanks for your post! We are also finding at We’re Related on Facebook/FamilyLink.com that many of our users are 55 and over. These individuals are bright, outgoing, and want to stay connected with their family (often those who are younger than they are). Our genealogy site, WorldVitalRecords.com is also full of people who are over the age of 55, and we love them! Many of them are tech savvy, and if they are not, they will learn the necessary skills to perform their genealogical research.
Thanks,
Whitney McGowan
Director, Corporate Communications
FamilyLink.com
It is nice to see these types of sites for older folks like myself. I’m a newcomer to the world of the internet and so far most of the site I’ve found were more for the younger crowd. I hope more sites can show up that can help us with everything from food to money management where we can help one another with tips and hints.
.-= Seamus Hughes´s last blog ..Dirty Blue Widgets And Golf? =-.
We have just started an EU AAL Project SoMedAll (Social Media for All elderly people) which is aiming to lower the thresholds of the social media usability for elderly and disabled people. If you want to know more follow the project in the web address: http://somedall.vtt.fi
I have linked this site on our project pages.
This sounds like a really interesting project, Hannu. I will be sure to check it out. Thanks for reading here and linking to us!