Facebook, the social network juggernaut that once started out as a closed social network for college students, not only has become a mainstream phenomenon, but it is also attracting more and more older users. Over the last 60 days, according to data from Inside Facebook, the number of users over 35 doubled, and the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is women over 55. The majority of Facebook users are now over 25.
Interestingly, looking at Facebook’s growth in the U.S., not only are the majority of new users over 25, but there is also a far larger number of new female users than male (13.5 million vs. 9.5 million in the last 180 days). Growth among users between 18 and 25 (a group highly coveted by marketers), however, has been relatively slow – only about 2.3 million signed up in the last 180 days.
These trends, of course, are not exactly new. As early as 2007, the number of Facebook visitors 35 and older had doubled from a year ago, though clearly, this trend is only getting more pronounced now.
It’ll be interesting to see how this change in Facebook’s demographics will change the culture on the service.
Note: If your mother, father, and boss have signed up for Facebook, here are our recommendations for how to friend them.
