Press Release

Third of US Grandparents have Social Networking Presence

New research from one of the USA’s leading coupon websites reveals that a third of grandparents in the USA now have a social networking presence; with Facebook being the most popular social networking site for the over 60s.

It would appear that social networking isn’t just for the younger generation, as a new survey reveals that 32% of grandparents in the US have a profile on a social networking site.

1,768 Americans aged 60 and over were polled by www.CouponCodes4u.com, as part of a study looking into the internet habits of the older generation.

Respondents were initially asked if they had an active account on a social networking site, to which 32% said ‘yes’. They were then asked to specify which sites they used, to which the top three answers were as follows:

1. Facebook – 76%
2. Twitter – 42%
3. MySpace – 18%
When asked why they had an account on a social networking site, the majority, 67% said that it was because they wanted to keep in touch with their family, while a quarter, 26% said it was so they could ‘share photos’ and 32% said it was to ‘try and get in touch with old friends’.

Of those that had a social networking presence, over half, 59% said they had created their account in the past 12 months. When asked how often they logged on to use their account, 63% said ‘once a week’ while 41% said that they only logged on when they knew someone had been in touch.

Mark Pearson, Chairman of CouponCodes4u.com, had the following to say about the study:

“It’s actually not all that surprising to find out that so many of the older generation have a social networking presence. It shatters the stereotype that older people aren’t very up to date with technology!”

He continued:

“It’s lovely to hear about the older generation are using social networking to stay in touch with family and find friends. It is a much easier, quicker and cheaper way to share photos and talk to people. However, I’m not sure how their grandchildren feel about seeing their grandparents ‘liking’ their photos on Facebook!”

ENDS