Baby Boomers ARE Using Web 2.0 Tools

One of the most frequent comments I hear from my clients when I’m recommending they engage Web 2.0 tools, like social networking, blogging or even texting, is “That’s just what the kids do. My audience isn’t using these things.” But, while that may have been the case at first, that is certainly not the case now.

There are 78 million boomers–roughly three times the number of teenagers–and most of them are Internet users who learned computer skills in the workplace. In fact, the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to a Sept. 12 article in the New York Times.

They are also big users of social networks. You think that MySpace is just for teens? Not so! More than half of all MySpace users are now over the age of 35, according to ComScore Media Metrix. And there are lots of social networks cropping up dedicated specifically to boomers, including AARP.com, eons.com, Boomertown.com and ThirdAge.com.

OK, I must admit I am new to the world of texting myself, but many parents and grandparents, whose kids and grandkids have been texting for a long time, have been forced to learn how to use the technology to not only communicate with, but stay on top of what their children are doing these days. According to research by InsightExpress, more than two-thirds of US adult mobile users can send and receive text messages. And while Gen Y texts the most, three-quarters of 45-to-54-year-olds can also text. A little over one-sixth of younger Boomers and 10% of older Boomers said they text daily.

So, the lesson: don’t discount adults and senior citizens when you’re considering an online PR campaign.