In Response

I think it is difficult to categorize individuals based on age regarding social media. I think personality (introvert/extrovert), interests (shopping, business, humor, social, debate, exercise, outdoors), physicality and how individuals perceive the world (visually, kinesthetic, auditory) would be a better way to look at who looks at what and uses whatever. I think age is really at the bottom of the list.

The above paragraph is in response to a question on LinkedIn. Let me delve a bit further regarding my original response.

First, I mention personality. Let me give an example. A strong introvert will most likely not want to have a million contacts or be out there on many networking sites chatting away all day, whereas the opposite might be true for a strong extrovert. Even though an introvert may not crave socialization, s/he might use social media to focus on specific interests or needs (drivers).

These “drivers” push individuals to focus their energies in certain areas and for different reasons. Some may want to find the best price. Others may be looking for a good laugh or entertainment. Some may be doing research or need information on a certain topic.

Third on my list, I mention physicality, which is really all about the “physical self” and “physical environment” of an individual. Physicality along with the mental/spiritual inner self dictates how the individual chooses to socialize. For example, someone who prides himself on muscle strength, and enjoys the outdoors and socializing in person has a strong physicality. This individual most likely will not want to do much socializing online as it would take away from the physical self.

How individuals perceive the world will dictate what type of social media an individual prefers. For someone visual, how a site looks will be a big deciding factor. Visual individuals typically enjoy artistically well-designed sites, photo sharing sites and webcamming. Kinesthetic or tactile types usually want something more hands on, like gaming or animation. Auditory types may gravitate toward music or entertainment sites with sound.

These four factors run through many generations and do not favor a specific age group or generation. Preference and tastes for social media are individual choices not generational choices.