'Old Farts' Take Over Social Media

People over 65 are adopting Facebook faster than any other age group. That's the message in this video from the AARP. Additional statistics include the fact 6.5 million of those 65+ joined in May 2010 alone. Less surprising is the fact the fastest growing age group on Twitter is 35-49 year olds. Add to this the fastest growing group on Match.com is over 50.

Overall, 47 percent of 50-64 year olds are using social media; an 88 percent growth from 2009. The takeaway? It's the same takeaway no one in this youth-obsessed advertising business has ever listened to. There's a lot of "old people" out there and they have a lot of money to spend. The trouble is, there's a mentality in the advertising business that it's just "not cool" to create advertising for "old people" because, at least according to those in the business, "old people" aren't cool.

In addition to the fact "cool" is largely irrelevant, this line of thinking is ridiculous and illogical but as long as the hallways of ad agencies are primarily staffed with those aged 25-34, it's quite likely nothing is ever going to change.