We all know that we interact SO differently on social media when compared to our parents and our grandparents, however you can usually tell their general age range based on the way they engage on social media! I am categorized as a Millennial (born between the early 1980s to early 2000s), my parents are categorized as Baby Boomers (born between the early 1940s to early 1960s) and my grandparents are categorized as the Silent Generation (born between the early 1920s to early 1940s). Below I will describe how I have seen each generation use social media.
Millennials:
As a Millennial, it is hilarious for me to see how much of a gap there is between how I use social media compared to almost everyone older than me! Digital natives like Millennials, were born right in the middle of increased technological advances so we have adapted seamlessly to the social media world. We know what the new trends are and when a fad has ended and it's time to move on to the next. We are very vocal in expressing positive and negative feelings towards just about anything, even that burger we just ate at McDonald's. We also have no problem reaching out to celebrities and public figures to remind them just how great (or terrible) they are! Millennials are very comfortable expressing themselves in any way, shape or form, whether that is through text, images, gifs, memes, emojis, hashtags etc. We love to create original content and reap the benefits. Oh and did I mention that we LOVE Buzzfeed as our main source for news! Also, we typically don't know anyone's phone number by heart (but that doesn't really matter because we aren't comfortable speaking on the phone, we would rather just text you).
Baby Boomers:
So Baby Boomers can sometimes be late to the party. Since Baby Boomers were already young adults when the Internet was commonplace, they have to actively adapt to the social media world that Millennials grew up with. While they mean well and try to keep up with the new trends, they discover these trends just a little too late and Millennials are already moving on. Baby Boomers took some time to understand and accept this new form of communication and tried to stick with email as long as they could. They aren't very vocal in expressing any type of feelings towards anything, ESPECIALLY that burger they just ate at McDonald's. Baby Boomers are not very comfortable creating content on social media. They are more likely to like, comment and share existing content as their way of communicating. They also prefer to get their news from websites like The New York Times or The Huffington Post. Baby Boomers are similar to Millennials when it comes to remembering phone numbers, they have to check their contact list on their phone to actually call someone.
Silent Generation:
The Silent Generation is very slow to accept change. The Silent Generation grew up without computers, let alone the Internet. They equate social media with writing a handwritten letter and feel compelled to add a salutation and/or valediction on a post. They are typically unaware of all new trends and when a fad has ended they probably didn't even know it began. The Silent Generation is not vocal at all when it comes to expressing feelings towards anything, not even what gender they are. They do not want their personal information to be readily available for everyone to see. They would never dare reach out to a celebrity or public figure on social media no matter how much they agree or disagree! The Silent Generation is just that, silent. They like to watch, read and observe the content that is being shared and created for them. They also rely heavily on traditional media as their main source for news, such as, the newspaper, television and radio! The Silent Generation might not be able to recall your phone number, but they surely have it written down in their handy, portable, personal phone book.
While all of these generations have their quirks, they are all unique and important to the flow of content on social media. This just demonstrates how important it is to know your audience when reading, sharing or creating content on different platforms of communication.
(Below is a funny video of the Baby Boomer generation and the Silent Generation reacting to a Millennial application, Snapchat).