Facebook for the Over 50 Crowd?

For anyone between 25 and 35, Facebook is the new and professional “three-way calling” or party lines of our youth.  For those under 25, it is the only way they’ve known to stay in touch with friends.

For those 55 and older on Facebook….wait, women over 55 on Facebook?  For the above mentioned under 35 set, this conjures up nightmares of your mother friending your friends and reading your not-so-prolific status updates. 

But the phenomenon is real.  Sheconomy reported on the number of women 55 and older on Facebook.  Recalling stats from an April 2009 CNN article, there are now about 1.5 million female users older than 55 on the site – roughly a 550 percent increase over a six month time period.

By comparison, membership among people younger than 25 grew by less than 20 percent over the same period. The number of men over age 55 also grew dramatically, but women over 55 still outnumber men in this age group by almost two-to-one.

So what’s the appeal? Find out the reasons people 55 and older gave for being on Facebook and why they like it.

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