Grandpa is online!
Toronto’s Social Media Lab at Ted Rogers School of Management recently released their 2022 report on social media usage in Canada. The report is based on an online survey of 1500 Canadians, conducted between May 12 and May 31, 2022. (So remember, the only people who would be participating in the survey were already online to begin with.)
Here are some interesting statistics about older adults social media usage, taken from the study.
- In general, Canada continues to be one of the most connected countries in the world. An overwhelming majority of online Canadian adults (94%) have an account on at least one social media platform.
- Since 2022, the biggest growth has been on social platforms generally considered to be “younger” like TikTok (+11%), Reddit (+4%), and Twitch (+4%), but good ol’ Facebook continues to be the most popular platform in Canada by a wide margin.
- 80% of respondents (all ages) had a Facebook account, followed by 62% with YouTube accounts and 51% with Instagram accounts.
- 70% of respondents reported using Facebook daily. This has dropped from a high point of 77% during the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.
- Looking at just the “over 55” demographic, 76% were on Facebook, 40% had YouTube accounts, 28% had LinkedIn accounts, 27% Instagram, 26% Pinterest, and 24% had Twitter accounts. Only around 5% of older adults had TikTok accounts or Reddit accounts.
- 67% of the Over55s considered themselves to be “regular users” of Facebook, meaning they were on Facebook at least once per month or more. Unfortunately the study didnt have more detail here.
- We were surprised to see that even in the youngest demographic (18-24yrs old), 86% percent of them had Facebook accounts, and they were just as likely to be on Facebook at least once per month (69%).
- 76.9 percent of Canadians use Facebook each month, says We Are Social. Canadians spend an average of 15.6 hours each month on Facebook.
Why Do People Use Social Media?
The most common reasons for using social media are:
- Keeping in touch with friends & family 47.6%
- Passing spare time 36.3%
- Reading the news 35.1%
- Finding content 31.6%
- Check out what others are talking about 29.5%
- Inspiration for things to do or purchase 27.7%
- Finding products to buy 26.3%
- Sharing opinions 24.5%
- Meeting new people 23.9%
- Watching live streaming 23.8%
- Favourite brand content 23.1%
- Networking & researching for work 22.9%
- Finding like-minded communities & interest groups 22.1%
- Watching/following sports 22.0%
- Following celebrities or influencers 21.7%
- Posting about their life 21.4%
- Fear of missing out (FOMO) 21.3%
- Supporting & following causes 17.4%
Contrary to popular belief, Canadians who have a traditional job are more likely to be on social media than those who are self-employed or not employed.
Takeaway
If you want to reach older adults 55 and over, Facebook continues to be the best platform, but LinkedIn and YouTube shouldnt be forgotten, with LinkedIn skewing to highly-educated professional users.