Social media users getting tired of social media?
12/16/08 06:07 AM
On the Internet:
-The use of the Web varies largely by age group. The younger people felt that the Web was both a tool to help them manager their lives as well as an information resource and these people were less likely to use traditional media like newspapers and TV.
-Older consumers use the Web primarily for information and although they are aware of the tools that can help integrate the Web with their lives they are reluctant to use them because of privacy concerns and connectivity issues (slow connections) on mobile devices.
-Older Web users (Boomers) usually go through a routine when they go online that consists of checking eMail and going to bookmarked sites. They tend to generally "surf" the Web when they have time at work or at home. (they are all spending more time at home because of the economy).
On Social Media:
-Gen X & Y were familiar with all the top social media sites and everyone (29 people) had social media pages or registered on a social media site.
-Gen X & Y were also more likely to access social media on their cell phones or PDA's.
-Gen X&Y feel that social media is a great way to stay in contact with friends "back home" and with family but admitted that over time they were using social media less and less. "If I can update someone on the way to work that's OK but lately it's a bit harder to text people while riding the subway", then we heard "I don't have to go and let everyone know what I'm doing every minute of every day anymore, with my job it's just too much time to do that".
-Boomers: Only half were aware of social media and most did not know that they could upload videos on YouTube and did not see the advantage. "Why would anyone want to see a video of me?" said one person. "I just don't see a benefit of letting people know what I'm doing and where I am every minute of everyday" said another. When we showed them Twitter they looked at each other and laughed clearly not understanding the benefit of "tweets". Facebook drew some attention because they felt like they did not need to go in "everyday and update my status". However we learned that a lot of Boomers were registered on Classmates.com, mostly for sentimental reasons of seeing what classmates are doing or to get back in touch with past flames.
-On paying for social media: Across the board everyone said "no", unless there is some great new feature that makes it worth it.
-On multiple accounts across different social media platforms: Gen X& Y are more likely to have accounts on several social media platforms but overall they are now using one as their primary social media connections. (It seemed to be Twitter)
-Boomer want to try social media but are reluctant to invest a lot of time learning unless they see a clear benefit.
Finally we heard from both Boomers and Gen X & Y that in a way their "constant connections" are becoming a pain in the ass. Two women in the groups remarked that they had told their boyfriends to turn off their cellphones when they were together and another one remarked "I wish restaurants would ban the use of phones at tables". One guy said "it's really easy to get addicted to this stuff and tweet all the time but then my girlfriend told me to talk to her and that she doesn't want to be my "tweetheart"
