Can anyone afford to stay away from Social Media? And if so, Who?

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Annelie Näs

I just found this move produced by Erik Qualman on a blog written by Swedish Gert Frost.

Watching this movie I start thinking about all the people who have made the choice to stay away from all types of social media for various reasons. How long will people be able to stay disconnected from social media? And on average is it better to join or not join? Who should join and who shouldn’t?

I have been thinking a lot about this, because I think that many people hurt their reputation more than anything by being online. But I have not to any conclusion, probably because there are none.

Let’s look at two examples:

First we have Lisa, who is 38 years old, she has two children and is happily married. Lisa has worked for a governmental organization for the last 12 years, and as she is very satisfied with her work and the possibilities for advancement within the organization she does not think she will change jobs anytime soon.  She has already “chosen” whom of her collage friends she want to stay in contact with and she is not interested to find out what her old high school classmates is up to.

Honestly, I think that Lisa is very hard to convince to join Facebook etc. And even if she did, if she does not spend any time using it, will it help her career or let her stay more connected? If she ends up losing her job in the future, she will probably be able to bet other applicant for a new job because of her experience, though others might be more available online. Or, do you think that society will think of her as lazy for not prioritizing her career and perhaps for not he taken any initiative that show interest of what she does on work on her spare time?

Compare Lisa with Paul, who is 52 years old, has three grown up children and is divorced. Paul has been working of a local factory all his life, and has lived in the same city all his life. He has heard about social media and his children have shown their online profiles from time to time. But he does not see the point of him being online as most of the people he knows also live in the same city and they talk on the phone and meet occasionally anyway.

Paul’s children might try to convince him to join Facebook and Linkedin, but he might not have many connections or even completed profile pages. If the factory closes, can Paul’s chances for a new employment rise if he is on social media. Perhaps a potential employer would see that Paul easily adapt to new things and tries to stay updates as promising characteristics if he has to change field? Though, it could as well hurt his changes if they think that he does not “understand” the new media.

Is Social Media for everyone, or can the Baby Boomers stay outside without it affecting them?

If you were not sure about your opinions before I guess you might be even more confused when I uses personas to demonstrate the problem. Personally, I think that both Paul and Lisa could benefit from social media if they were using it in a good way. However, if not, they might as well stay away. But because they are from the baby boomer generation they can both make this choice. I’m not sure that people that haven’t turned 30 yet can.

What do you think?

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  • Thank for you thought Rita, but acutally I did the mistake an went younger than the baby boom generation age group that you mention and not older.

    But the point I was trying to make was not that the boomers was not using social media, because I know that many are, and I learn from them every day.

    I was just implying that while using and succeding with social media might be more of a choice for them, compared to the younger generation as myself.

    Thanks for you input, and I hope that you keep sharing your thoughts and wisedom.

    It is also good for me to know when what I tried to say clearly did not come out the way it was intended, which mean that I should be working on how I phrase my thoughts.
  • You may want to check with boomers you know or have contact with and also do some research on this topic.

    You'll find that boomers are big users of social media. Boomers were the developers of computers and the Internet -- Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, for example -- and the advances in these areas have been shaped throughout by boomers users.

    Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. They aren't senior citizens.

    Rita blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
  • Åh, tusen tack vad glad jag blir! Kul att du kikade in. Hoppas allt är bra med dig! Fin hemsida förresten! Kramar
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