So there are more 35-54s than 25-34s on Facebook. However, there about twice as many people in the 20-year span than in the 10-year span, so they're still underrepresented.
I would assume it's because facebook has become a great way for that age group to get in touch with people they haven't seen in years, not for job networking, although I may be wrong.
I'm not sure about that. On a recent plane trip, I sat next to a 14-year-old who was lamenting that her mom was now on FaceBook because she needed to be for job leads. I've heard similar stories from several of my recently-out-of-college friends.
And my cubemate is Facebook-friends with her manager, which makes for an interesting dynamic in what she can or can't post online...
Yeah, that's what I've noticed too. LinkedIn doesn't seem to have much penetration outside of tech hubs though - I noticed a big difference in adoption just going from Boston to Silicon Valley. The girl in question was from Williamstown, MA, which is basically just two streets and a college in northwest Massachusetts. I'm not too surprised FaceBook beats it out, given the large student and academic population.
This is most likely because linkedIn is not as cool as Facebook.
The 30-40 age group might actually be beneficial for Facebook. This group arguably has highest disposable income. I would think this age group is most likely to spend money on Facebook apps.
This is a big risk for Facebook -- that they'll no longer be a cool place for HS/College/twentysomethings because of all the older folks.
By making sure everyone's 'view' is different, they fight this a little. Facebook to a college student looks dominated by students and student-related activities -- even if dad and granddad are just a few links away.
They may eventually want to offer a differently-branded sub-network, though, to combat the risk from a youth-oriented competitor. Use much the same backend, but dress it up so differently you know the old folks and professionals won't show up -- and your activity in one sphere is clearly distinct from the other.
The problem is not the look of the site. At least I don't think it is.
The problem is that is Mum checks facebook once a week, 19 year old daughter doesn't want to post drunk pictures of herself making stupid sexy faces at last night's party.
Or the fact that mum gets to see any pictures the daughter is tagged in, no matter who uploaded them. So even if she doesn't post pictures of her drunken faces, someone else does and they make it back to her mum regardless..
I agree with both of you. Facebook does a good job of making it seem that the whole universe of Facebook is just your friends. From the moment you log in, all you see is stuff about your friends.
On the other side, as soon as you accept a friend invite from your mom, your privacy is gone. Sexy pics, quizzes, 5 favorite beers, etc. Most people don't want their parents seeing that stuff.
More 35-44s than 25-34s would be news.