Baby Boomers’ Web Presence Underestimated

Survey results show older Web surfers hitting social networking sites and video sites more often than previously thought.

Sites like YouTube and MySpace may traditionally be affiliated with Web-savvy younger crowds, but as a new survey shows, Baby Boomers have a surprisingly large presence on such sites as well.  According to the NPD Group, 41 percent of Web surfers between ages 44 and 61 had visited social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, and 61 percent had hit video sites like YouTube.

If those numbers sound high, the frequency of visits may help explain the still-obvious divide between generations. For instance, Boomers visited social networking sites an average of only eight times in the course of three months, while younger surfers are far more likely to visit frequently.

However, the Boomer population that does hit traditionally “younger” sites could have big advertising implications for those sites. The survey also found that older surfers hitting video sites and social networking sites were more likely to buy CDs, DVDs and movie tickets, making them attractive to potential advertisers.

“There’s an ongoing misperception that certain Web activities are the exclusive domain of young people,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “That misperception could cost the entertainment industry, in terms of lost opportunities to target valuable consumers.”