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Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

Tags: Facebook, Twitter Inc., social media, chart, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, viral advertising, social marketing, Staci Baird

Facebook, the largest social media network, recently reached 300 million users worldwide — roughly the population of the United States. So do your homework before you approach your customers online. Here's how users on the top social media sites broke down by age in August 2009.

More on BNET:
Facebook age breakdown pie chart August 2009
MySpace age breakdown pie chart August 2009
Twitter age breakdown pie chart August 2009
LinkedIn age breakdown pie chart August 2009
 
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  •  
    1

    onelia

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    SO much for the tech savvy Gen Y into all this, it seems that Gen X universally dominates.

  •  
    2

    IggyPin

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down b

    More evidence of the Connection Generation.
    www.connectiongeneration.com

  •  
    3

    MayeCreate

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Wow I'm surprised at all the age 35-49 users in all categories, looks like they're a major player! Very good to know, thanks for the information and the visuals are helpful as well.
    www.mayecreate.com

  •  
    4

    tejas_shah94

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    hey i am really very thank full to you this will must be very helpful in order to develop my dissertation for MBA

  •  
    5

    rmccreary

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Can you tell me if there is a trend by the older teens away from MySpace towards Facebook? In other words, what would this have looked like a year ago?

  •  
    6

    Libby1122

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    In 2010, Gen Y will outnumber the Baby Boomers!

    Right now, MySpace seems defunct. All the money Murdoch spent & Facebook waltzed in & jumped to the number spot.
    OUCH for Rupert Murdoch!!

    Nice breakdown & graphs!

    LBBTraining.com/resumeredo.aspx

  •  
    7

    Libby1122

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Don't count Gen Y out yet. They're sneaky!




    LBBTraining.com/resumeredo.aspx

  •  
    8

    Libby1122

    11/19/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

  •  
    9

    vampirekwc

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    I would suspect that the high numbers for the 35-49 age group has at least a little to do with our 20th reunions. Facebook has really helped the organizers of my upcoming reunion keep all of us up to date...and aiding in the ability to find and reconnect with lost classmates.

    I was on Facebook for a while and no one cared. Then, miraculously, about a year before the reunion, about a hundred classmates came crawling out of the woodwork.

    Some of us haven't spoken in 20 years...and Facebook helped a lot of us find each other again. The younger folks today have always had email, so it's been easier for them to keep in touch with each other. The last time I saw some of my HS classmates, the card catalog at the local libraray was still your first resource when researching something.

    Just a thought.

  •  
    10

    MicroMarketingGenius

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    My boss and I just had a conversation about this topic. Perfect timing! I was surprised about the breakdown since I thought it would trend younger.

  •  
    11

    teresaj

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Some research suggests that myspace & facebook users are fracturing along social and racial lines. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113974893

    So just like the rest of life, every venue serves its own purpose.

  •  
    12

    merchant1

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Great info...

    Perhaps it's my computer display, but I do not see the percentages that should be associated with the pie charts -

    Please advise...

    Thanks,

  •  
    13

    ExecLeaderCoach

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Ditto on the interest in the percentages for each age group.

    There are few folks today who are not connected with some sort of new technology. Social media is just another and many businesses are finding this an effective way to control PR/Branding costs as well as reach clients/customers. Besides, as was mentioned elsewhere on Bnet, we really have no choice - we will have a Social Media Strategy. It's a question of who sets that strategy - us or "them."

  •  
    14

    annebizcoach

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    I was going to say Wow,s look at the substantial slice represented by 50 - 64, but then I see that the age ranges of the different slice ranges from 7 years to 15 years. So are those segments representative of their respective percentage of the population?? A key question for
    a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.authentic-alternatives.com">businesses and marketing for sure.

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    15

    K2Colo

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    These charts are a bit misleading, second annebizcoach's comments. Misuse of pie charts.

  •  
    16

    flyingfinch

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    How does this correlate with age breakdown for the population as a whole?

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    17

    David P Hamilton

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Ask and ye shall receive. Here's the percentage data for the pie charts.

    Facebook
    2 - 11 5.97
    12 - 17 7.92
    18 - 24 10.27
    25 - 34 16.39
    35 - 49 31.54
    50 - 64 20.86
    65+ 7.05

    LinkedIn
    2 - 11 0.67
    12 - 17 0.8
    18 - 24 3.99
    25 - 34 16.93
    35 - 49 43.64
    50 - 64 27.52
    65+ 6.46

    MySpace
    2 - 11 5.01
    12 - 17 11.53
    18 - 24 15.46
    25 - 34 19.18
    35 - 49 29.09
    50 - 64 16.17
    65+ 3.56

    Twitter
    2 - 11 1.88
    12 - 17 5.22
    18 - 24 9.51
    25 - 34 18.96
    35 - 49 34.02
    50 - 64 22.36
    65+ 8.05

    OK, let's see how that formatting comes out. I'll repost if it's mangled.

  •  
    18

    David P Hamilton

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    That was a little messy. Let's try again.

    Facebook
    2-11: 5.97
    12-17: 7.92
    18-24: 10.27
    25-34: 16.39
    35-49: 31.54
    50-64: 20.86
    65+: 7.05

    LinkedIn
    2-11: 0.67
    12-17: 0.8
    18-24: 3.99
    25-34: 16.93
    35-49: 43.64
    50-64: 27.52
    65+: 6.46

    MySpace
    2-11: 5.01
    12-17: 11.53
    18-24: 15.46
    25-34: 19.18
    35-49: 29.09
    50-64: 16.17
    65+: 3.56

    Twitter
    2-11: 1.88
    12-17: 5.22
    18-24: 9.51
    25-34: 18.96
    35-49: 34.02
    50-64: 22.36
    65+: 8.05

    Not perfect -- I didn't want to risk seeing if our comment system can support HTML tables -- but you get the drift.

  •  
    19

    David P Hamilton

    11/20/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    As for the relevance of these figures -- well, these are Nielsen's demographic categories. The numbers are not weighted for the percentage of the overall population represented by each demographic (at least to the best of my knowledge).

  •  
    20

    College Matchmaker

    11/21/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Thanks. I definately will include this information in by business and marketing plan.

  •  
    21

    Blaine Millet

    11/22/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    I like how you have put these into easy to read pie charts. We do almost 100 speeches a year to CEOs, Business Leaders and top Executives on why they need to understand and lead in this new world. Not all get it, most want it to go away and others are anxious to "try it out" - smaller majority want to act because of all the reasons discussed in your earlier posts. We would love to use your information and present it to these executives - noting you as the owner of course. Thanks again.

    Blaine Millet
    www.someexec.com

  •  
    22

    bfletcher1

    11/22/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Definitely some surprises for me in this data. Like someone else mentioned I would have bet the data would have been skewed much younger. I am proud of us 50-somethings.

    Answering Service

  •  
    23

    omemedia

    11/22/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    I never realized that Gen Toddler was so active on the Social Network Sites. Even on LinkedIn which is generally where you find professionals. Amazing! And even more frequent on Twitter. What could a 2-year old possibly have to say?

  •  
    24

    sagh

    11/23/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    As a Gen-X'er and operations analyst, I have a question about the numbers: Are they, as they seem to be to me, membership numbers?

    If so, there are more important things to base strategies on. As kwcvampire points out, it is possible for someone to become a member of a social networking site for a very limited use, then not go back. High school anniversaries are a good example of that type of use.

    Usage brakedown by age would be better info. Daily, weekly, monthly usage by age with seasonal trends and impulse identification ("one-shot" use) would help you understand with whom you are talking.

    Then you get to different types of usage. If I only have a facebook account so I can check up on my kids' and their friends' sites (I frequently visit and revisit a closed set of sites), then you need more of a "drive by" approach to get me than an "interested consumer" approach.

    It's a nice set of charts ... it's just not strategic communications decision quality information.

  •  
    25

    fjonassohn

    11/23/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    hmmm. Not too surprising...as teens shy away as soon as their parents sign on. I would be curious to know ... stats for sites like Tumblr. Do you have those?

    frieda.jonassohn@gmail.com

  •  
    26

    David P Hamilton

    11/23/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    @sagh: No, these aren't membership numbers, which are essentially meaningless for the reasons you note. This is Nielsen's "unique audience" data, which estimates monthly unique visitors to each site.

  •  
    27

    Gary Ryan

    11/23/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Very interesting indeed. To me it makes sense - Gen X's are generally established by now and trying to really make a difference. As many have now assumed the most 'powerful' stages of their careers it is no wonder that they have taken to social technology like ducks to water.

    http://www.orgsthatmatter.com

  •  
    28

    elia2006

    11/24/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    thanks , how could we obtain such analysis for other inforrmation like dender hobbies, interetand so on

  •  
    29

    colmireland

    11/26/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    It's the Gender breakdown I'd REALLY like to see - aren't women leading the charge in all of this?

  •  
    30

    onesys

    11/27/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Hi All

    The UK tends to run a little behind the USA on the take-up of new communications and technology.
    What is the general concensus as to the value of social media networks for marketing purposes in relation to a business that is active in a B2B rather than a B2C environment?
    Have you come across any interesting articles on this subject lately? Thanks for your feedback.

    Gil - Marketing Manager - www.onesys.co.uk

  •  
    31

    mgomara@...

    12/01/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    This says there are at least if not more 50-64 users on Facebook than 18-24 or 25-34. I find this very hard to believe, and only 3% fewer 65+ year olds than 18-24. I would likely believe they just are more likely to respond to Nielsen than younger ages groups are.

    Michael O'Mara at mgomara@att.net
    Delta Construction Partners

  •  
    32

    mridick

    12/01/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Great stats, truly eye-openings but what are the demographics on education and income level?

    I wonder if decision makers are using social media for their personal lives and conversely in their business lives?

  •  
    33

    Adiya

    12/02/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Really! I didn't think the 35-49 group were dominating these sites. I thought it would be more like the 18-30 group

  •  
    34

    MG1978

    12/02/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    whats funny to me is when business owners think they don't need the internet to be competitive. These numbers prove its more of people their own age using the technology not just kids.

  •  
    35

    percychow

    12/08/09 | Report as spam

    Love this info... some thoughts...

    The information - as mentioned in previous comments shows strong, strong adoption with Gen X and Gen Y... and the two together make up about 50% across the board.

    Why?

    1. Gen X and Gen Y are out of college - so the actual face-to-face social circles are smaller

    2. Millenials - well they still see each other in school. So they still have face-to-face contact. As an aside, they are more hoooked into texting than the net as they don't carry computers around or sit in front of one like X/Y-ers. But that will change as their social circles become smaller.

    3. Boomers+ : they've always had a hard time adopting technology and don't participate... so add the two together and that slice of pie will remain mostly the same.

    But in a nutshell... technology adoption tends to do best when it's made by those who are also the market. I'd dare to guess that most of the programmers, leadership, etc. at Twitter, Facebook, etc. are also Gen X and Gen Y-ers.

  •  
    36

    AARONDEAN

    01/02/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Interestingly, most comments here are 140 characters or less.

  •  
    37

    lawhittaker

    01/11/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Not what I thought it would be. It definitely seems like the Gen X'ers now what they are doing. I'm surprised though - I thought Gen Y would have the lead by far. Great information to know.

  •  
    38

    incirkle

    01/16/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down b

    What about breakdown by age for Youtube ?

  •  
    39

    textileinvestmentszim

    01/19/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    Its good to know 35-49 are majour users as i thought we were concidered too old for tech!

  •  
    40

    schweickism

    01/21/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    For everyone wondering about how these compare to the ages of the general Internet population, that was the first thing that came to my mind too. Here are a couple resources to look into it:

    According to this Pew study, when you adjust for overall population, younger people are more likely to use social networking sites: http://www.pewinternet.org/Infographics/Generational-Differences-in-SNS.aspx

    Also Quantcast is a fun tool, though I would like to see more detailed disclosure of how they estimate data: http://www.quantcast.com/facebook.com
    Notice on Quantcast the green bar graphs for demographics have a dashed line representing the overall online averages.

  •  
    41

    chalespinosa

    01/22/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down b

    Wonder how proportions change in developing countries and
    how social media marketing affect those marketing campaign

  •  
    42

    moshekipud

    02/03/10 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

    It seems that they are all very similar,
    25 to 65...
    Girl games

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