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MySpace is getting older

Acccording to the AP, youths are no longer predominant on the popular social networking site, MySpace. Half of the site's users are 35 and older. According to studies by ComScore, only about 30 percent are under 25 despite the current belief that it is only the rambunctious youth scouring these social networking sites.

As the under-18 group is slowly shrinking, the 35-54 group skyrocketed to 41 percent in August.

The interesting conclusion that ComScore came up with is that the appeal of social networking is broader and becoming mainstream. Another finding was that many social networking sites are popular among a niche market. For example, Facebook is clearly dominant in the college-age crowd while Xanga is a haven for teens under 18.

Of course, Facebook's dominance in the college group is clearly attributed to the fact that Facebook was initially closed to only college students. With the recent opening of its site through regional networks, it would be interesting to see if the graduating college students continue to use MySpace. Also, it would be interesting to see if new people become attracted to Facebook.

From my experience, people do join these groups because their friends telll them to do so. Then the fringe benefits of photo sharing and keeping contact information online become very useful once you use the site extensively.

posted by Koh @ 1:10 PM