Facebook has seen a "great increase" in use by older adults, a new Gallup poll reveals.
"Facebook has evolved as a social media platform, and its users' demographics have expanded," Gallup’s Justin McCarthy says.
“Though college students in the late 2000s may remember the site as one used primarily by their peers, Facebook is now used by their parents, grandparents and their friends without college experience as well."
According to the random poll of 1,509 adults conducted from April 2-8:
The greatest increase in Facebook use from 2011 to 2018 has been among adults aged 50 to 64. Of that group, 52 percent used Facebook in 2018 compared to 34 percent in 2011.
Retirement-age adults have nearly doubled their rate of use, from 18 percent in 2011 to 32 percent in 2018.
Young adults are still the age group most likely to be on Facebook, but the gaps have narrowed since 2011, with 30- to 49-year-olds reporting nearly as much use as those under age 30.
The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, also found concerns about invasion of their privacy have increased among all age groups using Facebook since 2011.
Facebook’s information-sharing practices have been under fire since it was revealed that data company Cambridge Analytica improperly mined the information of tens of millions of people.
Gallup, based in Washington, D.C., is an American research-based, global performance-management consulting company.
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