Why Baby Boomers Love Social Media

Boomers are all over social media, especially Facebook, according to a recent report. Wondering why these old farts (like me) are updating their profiles, tweeting, and otherwise hanging out in social space? Actually, it's in our upbringing and collective life experience. We love social media because it reminds us of who we are.

If you watched Tom Brokaw's special "Boomers!" last night, and you aren't a baby boomer, you got a glimpse of what makes us boomers tick. We were born after WWII and the Korean War, and most of us grew up in the 'burbs built during the post-war 50's. We were hooked on TV dinners and TV shows like Laugh-In and the Monkeys. We were influenced by space exploration and devastating events like the JFK and MLK assassinations. We entered puberty under the heavy shadow of Vietnam and the Cold War. Many of us became rebellious and many more experimented in everything including sex and drugs and rock-and-roll. We turned to each other for support and we banned together like no other generation before or since. As we grew up we became obsessed with material things and we bought it all on revolving credit, even though our parents warned us that someday (i.e. now) it would all come crashing down on us. 

So now where are we boomers, and why are we into social media, tools that were designed for kids?

1. We love to experiment. Remember?
2. We lost touch with each other along the way, and we yearn to get back to that age of discovery and togetherness.
3. We need each other more than ever since the dream has turned into a massive recession.
4. Most of us have turned into empty nesters, so we actually have time for things other than kids and work. Not enough time to go visit each other much, but plenty to hook up on FB.
5. Lots of us have been displaced from those jobs we depended on for so long, and now we need help finding new ways to make money.
6. We never lost that urge to be playful and have fun. It was just buried under a ton of responsibilities.