I’ve been trying to get my mom to join Facebook. She’s a Scrabble fiend, so she’d be one more person I could play Scrabulous against (and get my ass kicked by), and I think she’d enjoy some of the other features of the site. But she’s not too interested in joining a group of college-age kids.
Now the UK has launched SAGA Zone, a Facebook-esque site aimed at the over-50 demographic. The main site promises concrete applications like creating a profile page, participating in forums, and creating “your own web diary, or ‘blog.’” No confusing pokes, virtual gifts or complicated friend wheels. Just a way to chat with your peers when things are slow in the office.
It’s nice that there’s a place for people who might find Facebook a little overly hectic, but I’d rather see Facebook eventually expand to be a multi-generational service. I’m reminded of the beer gardens I saw when I was in Munich, where several generations of one family would come together to sit in the sun. It didn’t feel like a family-oriented theme park, as multi-generational places do in the U.S. It was just a lot of differently-aged people hanging out together.
Can Facebook, which was originally (and remains) targeted at the college crowd, ever become a place my mom wants to visit? What happens when the current users grow up and graduate? It will be interesting to see how the demographic changes over time.
In the meantime, for those of you who feel uncomfortable with Facebook, there’s SAGA Zone. Although those of us in our twenties who are already starting to feel a little long in the tooth for Facebook will have to wait 30 more years to join SAGA’s over-50s crowd.
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1 comment so far ↓
Hi there. I’m 56 and love facebook. So tell your mum there’s at least one other older person on there.
I don’t want to belong to saga louts or whatever it’s called, I want to have fun with the youngsters, and see pretty young faces staring back at me, not bleeding old wrinkled ones.
I love the apps, well some of them, and the friend wheel, and the groups you can set up. Perhaps me and your mum could set one up together, and invite other over 21’s to join us:-)
My son and my two daughers are also on there, but not as often as me, as I have more time now that they’re grown up.
Anyway thanks for the chance to let you know there are older people on there, and say hi to your mum.
Linda
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