Two years ago, a friend told me I “had” to be on Facebook. I joined up, took a quick look around, vowed to return for a deeper dive, but, before I could, forgot my password.
I am, I should note from the get-go, a woman 55+. But whatever urge you may have to tell a joke about “senior moments,” you should know that I am now also part of the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook. In fact, as of February 1, Facebook reported that membership by women over 55 surged an astonishing 175.3% in the previous 120 days, beating out the growth in all other population segments including teens and Alpha moms, not to mention men our age. We’ve tripled our numbers since September, clocking in at over 717,000.
One of those comprising the 55+ stat is my friend Barbi, the one who urged me to jump onto Facebook in the first place. She is also the one who uses her page to share photos and details of her early retirement move from Los Angeles to Bali. Apparently, she now spends at least part of the day getting cheap massages, eating coconuts and learning to tango, and the rest of it on Facebook making everybody else jealous.
Another one is Gail, a high school classmate, who has gone online to build a thriving business for herself selling painted portraits of people’s pets. I’ve got to hand it to Barbie and Gail, the first wave of 55+ women pioneers who staked their claim to their virtual homestead, and are now “friending” people into the triple digits.
Personally, with neither photos of Bali nor portraits of puppies to post, it took me well over a year to find the motivation to reconstruct the forgotten pass code that guarded entry to the kingdom of 45.3 million. This time, the impetus was a more compelling invitation from my adult children, who probably thought they’d get fewer annoying phone calls if they allowed me access to them online.
Of course, it became quickly apparent to all that I required an emergency course in intergenerational etiquette. (“Mom, you don’t have to comment every time I post something. Everybody’s starting to think you’re my only friend.”) (“Mom, when I post that I’m going camping, please don’t remind me to bring long underwear.”)
In any case, I am back on Facebook — and I’ve dragged a whole bunch of my friends along with me. These are women my age who don’t mind one bit how many times I comment on their pages. We celebrate each others’ birthdays online, view photos of grandchildren, alternately regale and/or bore each other with personal trivia. (Do I really need to know that you eat crackers and peanut butter in bed?)
We also encourage each other to venture off our Facebook pages and onto news, recipe and shopping sites, online dating services, medical information portals and money generators like EBay, all of which are experiencing similar surges in utilization by Boomers — particularly women. We even have a site of our own: VibrantNation.com, a peer-to-peer information exchange exclusively for women 50+, that has, itself, grown ten-fold over the past three months.
Despite the stereotypes, it should be no surprise that women at midlife and beyond have embraced the Web as our own. After all, it was our moms, not us, who anticipated that their worlds would shrink as they aged. Before our generation of daughters liberated the workplace and appropriated the Internet, women crossed the threshold of 50+ fully expecting that they would become progressively marginalized from mainstream society.
Today’s 50+ woman, on the other hand, has grown to maturity in the electronic glow of an expanding universe. In our lifetime, we have adopted everything from handheld calculators and push-button telephones to answering machines, PDAs and desktop computers. These are but a few of the technological advances we’ve learned to operate, Facebook, My Space, You Tube and Vibrant Nation merely the latest on a long list of breakthroughs offering enlarged horizons of connectedness with others across time and space.
Perhaps the fact that our presence is growing so robustly on the Web is not only irrefutable evidence that we are defying the march towards invisibility, but is our generation of women’s next great revolution. If so, and if I can remember my password, count me in!
Agreed. I never thought I was vain until I had a mastectomy at age 39. I was devastated and told the doc I wanted to wake up with implants. Now at age 60, I am lopsided and wondering if I was just avoiding the inevitable. You get what you get and you
Sounds very interesting.
Spike, you are awesome! Love your perspective, thanks for sharing.
I love Facebook, as well as sites like Vibrant Nation where you can jump in and have an intelligent (or just plain fun) conversation with other 50+ women. We are an incredibly diverse bunch, but the sisterhood of shared history and common challenges coupled with technology has brought us together at a time when we need one another more than ever. Viva Vibrant Nation! Viva women 50 and over! We rock!
What a treat to read such a perfect articulation of this major online dynamic. I can’t tell you the times I have spoken with marketers who are still stuck in the idea that “it’s a youth market.” HA! Have they forgotten how to look at numbers? I love the fact that so many over 50 women are streaming onto the Internet. Facebook is one thing, but as a blogging evangelist, I continue to carry the torch for the simple blog, which gives women a real voice. It’s like having an online “living room” where you decorate, invite your friends, and host your own idea of creative freedom. And so much more. Your article just emboldens me to continue to teach the spirit of online communication to Boomers and especially women emerging as a major force and voice on the ‘net. Thank you! Suzanna Stinnett,
I joined Facebook ages ago too and did nothing with it. Now I’ve jumped in with both feet, thanks to my SEO team. I use it professionally and have not taken time to find freinds from my past. That’s a whole other ball game.