The ageing face of social media:

Millions of older Australians are joining the social media revolution for the first time, according to the fourth annual snapshot of social media.

The 2014 Yellow Social Media Report revealed a wave of Australians aged 50-64 and 65+ have joined the online conversation. Some 58% of internet users aged 50-64 now use social media, up from 52% in 2013.

Almost one third of those online, aged 65+ use social media, compared with 24% last year.

At the same time, younger people are becoming more active on image-based sites and platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr and Snapchat (the site that reported the highest number of weekly uses), as their old favourites, Facebook and Twitter, become more mainstream.

Both trends are having profound social implications, shifting the way friends and family interact.

Kelly Brough, Chief Digital Officer at Sensis, said: “We are seeing not only the evolution of communication, but also of relationships. The demographics of social media are shifting. Younger  people are fast adopting new platforms while older people are now rapidly getting in on the act. It’s a major shift.

“Social media has really infiltrated every aspect of our day-to-day lives. We’re using it to keep in touch with friends and family particularly while we travel, to share photos and videos, to organise social activities, and to access the latest news as it happens.

There’s also a big trend for parents moving online to keep an eye on what their kids are up to,” said Brough. 

With 99% of Australians now online, and 69% using social media, the reasons for using social networking sites are on the rise. 

When, where and how we are using social media is also changing:

• 46% of social media users access one or more social networking sites at least once a day – 42% say it’s the first thing they do in the morning, and 48% say it is the last thing they do before they go to bed at night
• 17% of men access social networking sites on the toilet
• 48% of men and 49% of women access social networking sites in the bedroom
• Facebook continues to be the most popular platform, used by 95% of social networkers, with users spending over eight and a half hours a week on the site on average
• Of the social networking sites that Australians stopped using, Twitter was the most mentioned
• 71% of social media users access social networking sites on their smartphones

The landmark annual YellowTM Social Media Report conducted by Sensis surveyed 800 Australians – aged 14 and upwards.