As the baby boomer, my first introduction to computers that I  remember was a school trip to some sort of computer exhibition. The focus seemed to be on how computers worked and there were examples of binary systems and flow diagrams and pictures of enormous computers that filled a room. Somehow I managed to live without computers really touching my life for several decades, apart from occasionally playing Pac-Man on my Dad’s computer when he wasn’t using it.

However with the development of computers and the Internet there came a point where I needed to learn to master this strange machine. The crunch point came when it was necessary for me to use a computer at work. I remember feeling embarrassed and frustrated when introduced to the mouse because I could never get that cursor to go where I wanted it to. I was around 40 years old at that time, and fortunately found with practice it was possible to move the mouse with dexterity.

Computers have come a long long way in a relatively short period of time. Now computers are no longer just used as equipment in a workplace scenario, but because of the Internet are used not only for gaining information quickly, but developing world wide social relationships based on similar interests.

It was with great interest that I read about a recent study today (Social Media Examiner)on usage of social networking by the different generations.

There has been a remarkable increase in the number of baby boomers participating in social media. The study defined ‘baby boomers’ as being between the age of 44 and 62, and ‘matures’ being between the age of 63 to 75.

Here are the results according to a study by eMarketers comparing numbers from 2008 to 2009. During this span of a year was a significant jump in the use of social media by baby boomers. What is even more interesting is the increase in usage by the matures generation.

Forty-six percent of Boomer respondents said they maintained a social network profile (compared to 30% in 2007, according to a recent Deloitte study).

Here’s the breakdown on 3 popular social sites:

Facebook:

* Baby Boomers using Facebook increased 107% from 2008 to 2009
* 73% of Boomers maintain a Facebook profile
* 90% of Matures maintain a Facebook profile  (That number comes as a surprise considering it was the highest of all generations.)

Twitter:

* Twitter usage jumped 714% from 2008 to 2009
* 13% of Boomers maintain a Twitter account
* 17% of Matures maintain a Twitter account (again, higher than the Boomers!)

LinkedIn:

* 13% of Boomers
* 4% of Matures

It seems that baby boomers are going on social networking sites to keep in touch with relationships as well as making new ones. Another reason I suspect, is that boomers can find out what their kids are up to from their social media postings, and this is actually easier than tracking them down and having a conversation. Certainly this is been true for me. also there is an expectation that keeping up with technology will help  boomers live a longer life using the computer as a mental stimulation.

So if you are baby boomer, in the mature category let me ask you: “How long do you spend the day using social media sites?” ” What is it that motivates you to participate in social media?” “Or do you use the Internet for other things and not participate in social networking?”