According to a new study conducted by CPH Research on behalf of Continuum Crew, Baby Boomer-aged respondents' anxiety has shifted from the collapse of the economy to the cost of health care. Most
significant is the shift in the media consumption of this age group, as the only media activity to rise dramatically was time spent on the Internet. This is one of several insights on the emergence of
the new 'social media maven' among Baby Boomers, and indicates that social media has significantly carved out time generally reserved for traditional media.
Baby Boomers/Boomers are
defined as the generation born between 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Generation Jones, coined by television director Jonathan Pontell, is commonly considered to be those born
between 1954 and 1964, representing the younger segment of Boomers. Generation Ike (Ikes) are those born between 1934 and 1945.
Top Findings on anxiety and life events of Boomers are:
- Anxiety about the economy has decreased in the past year (46% indicated it as the issue they were ‘very nervous' about in 2008); now the issue of most concern is cost
of healthcare, as indicated by 49% in 2009.
- For older parents more adult children are moving back home than are leaving it. This is a previously unprecedented finding within this
research series, and markedly shows that Boomers' lives are in transition.
- Boomers are now re-framing the notion of frugal living into the idea of simplicity. Children
moving back in with parents, or delaying leaving their parent's home, is likely having an effect on the family dynamic and household, which may mean an inclination to the return of the
extended family structure of the World War II era.
Top findings on media consumption are:
- Ikes and Boomers still use traditional media more than those of
Generation Jones or Generation X, but not all Boomers consume media in the same way, the biggest gap being between older and younger Boomers. This is most striking within traditional
print media, with high consumption by older Boomers of newspapers and magazines.
- Among all media services listed, Boomers were least willing to give up the Internet, versus the
top response of the 2008 survey,their cell phone. The survey shows they now spend more time than ever online (a rapid increase in one year from 38% to 62% stating they now spend more time
online).
- The majority of Ikes and Boomers have joined popular social networking site Facebook© within the last 6 months.
- Boomers are becoming more aware that
national and local news, magazines, and to some extent television and movies, are available to them via the Internet, indicating an increasing preference to access content this way. These
responses illustrate a seismic shift among older adults, says the report, experimenting in the social media arena.
In the course of the study, says the report, a significant
segment emerged within the Boomer group, dubbed the new "Social Media Maven." The profile of this group is one that is heavily connected, exploring and expanding their networks.
These Social Media Mavens have more frequent contact with individuals across all types of groups within their social network, not just family or neighbors, but issue-oriented groups and co-workers
as well:
- 73% responded ‘People often come to me for advice'
- Not merely amassing ‘friends' or ‘connections' they are communicating
regularly.
- They also have more face-to-face contact and use smart phones more than other Boomers or Generation Jones respondents (78% responded ‘New technology plays an
important role in my life')
- They are equally likely to be male as female, which defies the stereotypical female profile of the voracious social media consumer
- Of
this Social Media Maven group the majority are still working, more likely than the other segments to own their own business, most likely to engage in volunteer activity and to have the
highest household income
- Social Media Mavens are more likely to try new products, technologies and seek new experiences. They are recommenders who embrace the role of technology
in their connected lives
Lori Bitter, President, Continuum Crew, concludes that "With more time being spent online, and the emergence of the new Social Media Mavens among
Boomers... for companies targeting the mature consumer... online media should be at the core of an integrated marketing campaign... "
And, supporting the findings that Boomers lives are
in transition, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 13% of parents with grown children say one of their adult sons or daughters has moved back home in the past year. Social scientists
call them "boomerangers" -- young adults who move in with parents after living away from home. This recession has produced a bumper crop.
One-in-ten adults ages 18 to 34 (10%) say
the poor economy has forced them to move back in with Mom and Dad. An additional 12% say they acquired a roommate. Hard times are leading young adults to put their lives on hold in other ways as well.
For example, some 15% of adults younger than 35 say they have postponed getting married because of the recession; an additional 14% say they have delayed having a baby.
According to the
survey, nearly half of all adults (46%) have children ages 18 or older. Among these parents of adult children, some 13% say at least one of their grown sons or daughters had returned home in the past
year for any reason. The proportion of "boomeranged parents" increases to 19% among those ages 45 to 54 and declines sharply in later age groups.
To read the complete release from the Continuum Crew, please visit here. And, more from the PEW study may be found here.
this research offers great value on many levels. Thanks
Most interesting; the common misperception of many in public relations links social networking to younger users. Perhaps one factor motivating the Boomers is the phenomenal increased use of social media by news and sports organizations as well as the same growth by commercial firms' selling "soup to nuts."
Interesting but they don't talk about multicultural groups which typically have lower internet usage rates. Are they looking at these groups also?