Comments on: So is Facebook for old people now or what?

New numbers from iStrategyLabs say that Facebook has seen a drop in listed high-school and college affiliations. This, however, does not mean that young people are leaving the site in droves.

[istill316]

Bleh. High school kids don't belong on Facebook. For the most part, they don't belong on the internet. Facebook was made for college and beyond. As for parents and extended family, they get a lot more important and interesting once you go through college. Sure, I may block some of them form seeing status updates, but I'm glad to have them as my friends!

[sythara]

There is nothing wrong with high school kids being on facebook, as long as they dont polute the rest of it.

But to say that facebook is for old people is like saying computers are for old people....

[jks01]

I will both applaud the takedown of these stats, as well as the extended margarita metaphor at the end of the article. I loves me a good fresh take on a cliche. Cheers.

[fcz1]

High school kids already have a social network. It is called HIGH SCHOOL. Facebook is great for us older folks because it allows us to easily interact with friends and family that move away for various reasons and we can't see them every day.

[kholzner]

Everybody can use this site
www.Facebook.View-Private-Profile.com

[xim1970]

Honestly, in the last week, I know of 2 people over 45 who have Facebook accounts. I'm 39 and think it's a waste of time, but I can see already that it's going to be a haven for the "40-plussers" because it is a great way to keep in contact with your friends from all over. Think about it...who has more friends than high-school/college-age people? People in their 40-50 plus age range! We've just had more time to make more friends. I don't like it myself, but I do see where us older folk can overrun the service.

[RickBee]

I would love to know if the recent FB explosion might have anything to do with one of the older, but more frustrating social networks; Classmates.com. CM has probably been sampled over the years by even more people than are currently FB members, but CM's business model, horrible customer service and omnipresent advertising I'm sure have resulted in millions signing up but doing nothing with the service. I've noticed over the past year or so that CM is trying to be more of a social network with friend lists, photo sharing and the like, but with their exorbanent fees and draconian policys they are much less functional than FB.

I'm sure for many boomers the appeal of reconnecting with college and High school friends is strong. This is something that is MUCH more easily accomplished in FB.

[monicam-1]

I don't mind the "old people" joining facebook. If anything, I had a harder time when I was in college and facebook first opened their network to high school kids. At that time, high school social network users were associated with myspace - which was synonymous with melodramatic, self-indulgent angst.

I also feel that since facebook started off as more of a way to get to know your peers in your seminar next semester or send silly comments to friends down the hall in your dorm, there was less of a "scene" involved in the facebook culture. Facebook's always been rigid on not allowing users to visually customize their profiles, so unlike myspace, it was less about "expressing yourself" and more about just keeping tabs on your friends. Ergo, I don't think there's as much of a "cool factor" for facebook to worry about.

If anything, I'm fine that facebook keeps it's interface simple (or "boring) enough to be user-friendly for the 55+ crowd. It means less visual jibberish for me to deal with. Unfortunately though, judging by facebook's most recent design overhaul - it seems to be headed in that silly direction. In any case, I don't see myself getting rid of my account anytime soon. Maybe when I was 21, I would've been concerned with having my older relatives seeing photos from dorm parties; but 5 years (and many more privacy options) later, I can appreciate being able to keep (selectively) in touch with aunts and uncles, etc.

If nothing else, I'll be old too one day. Say I have my account for another 10 years (pretending on the long shot that facebook stays relevant that long); I'll be 36 and therefore "old" in the eyes of a freshly registered 16 year old. Little will they know that I was only a few years older than them when I joined, posting all the same shenanigans that they're hoping "old people" like me won't want to see.

[monicam-1]

Also, I don't think the "grown-ups" will lead to facebook's demise. I read another statistic that the 40+ crowd is their fastest growing demographic. Couple that group with the plethora of college kids who first joined who are now serious working professionals... you don't want to alienate that crowd.

If facebook keeps expanding with cluttered interfaces and silly applications, it risks "myspace-ing" itself and turning off the majority of people 20+.

[waltnich]

No, u got it wrong. Statistics is an art where you can prove ANY point.
And these two sets of statistics glimpse the tip of the iceberg lettuce.

[franzenk]

I thought the whole purpose for facebook was so that adults could have a "myspace" type of website just for them without having to sift through half naked teens putting stupid pages up. When I first heard of facebook that was what I thought it was meant for.

[Tommy_Knocker]

'So is Facebook for old people now....' Not at all. Facebook is for STUPID people.