41 and Web 2.0 – 2nd in series
In the second interview of Web 2.0 in different age groups I had the pleasure of chatting to Jenny, a busy 41 yr old working 2 teaching roles at a school and university. She first used the internet 6 years ago via dial up, interestingly, even before she had a mobile phone. Some of my predictions pre-interview were
- use of Web 2.0 is popular in 40 somethings (particularly those with a technological or inquisitive outlook)
- they are not familiar with the term
- social media online is becoming a part of their lives
- they use Facebook, Youtube and Wikipedia regularly (and some use Twitter)
- there is minimal integration of their social media onto their mobile device
- following the first interview findings I would predict use of social media is more popular amongst females and their friends
Jenny is online daily, uses “Mozilla” (firefox) as a browser, searches for information via Google and Bing, and finds ads a disturbance to her browsing experience. Both of her work places permit use of social media, but this is rarely an option due to time constraints. Whilst not familiar with the term Web 2.0 Jenny is an avid user of Facebook
- using it daily
- primarily as “community therapy” to chat and catch up with friends
- 15% of friends use it
- believes some youth don’t understand the long term ramifications of certain content
- does not use at work (office job) – but would be supportive of her employers if they allowed time for use
New Web 2.0 applications such as LinkedIn, google docs, bebo, Digg, friendfeed and blip.fm were unfamiliar terms although
- stumbleupon -”love the name, funny”
- and delicious - “love name, naughty”
evoked fascinating emotional connections, possibly leading to use in the future? Wikipedia has been used as a source for basic homework facts for her girls, and the reputation of Twitter (although used by a few of her friends) is one of a “texting toilet” with instant boring updates with a celebrity watching slant. Flickr, MSN and FB chat use is occasional and communication via phone is preferable. Youtube is used in personal situations, often via a link to a funny video.
She browses a paper daily (as awareness for school), does not browse online via mobile, accesses blogs occasionally (for a bit of “sex in city chick relationship stuff”), and has never paid for online subscriptions
A few of my conclusions following a qualitative analysis are
- whilst 40 somethings may not be familiar with the term Web 2.0, a small percentage use some form of this technology (although it is increasing)
- generalisations regarding use of Web 2.0 across different age groups are difficult to make
- similar to the previous interview, uptake by females is more popular and the community like platform of Facebook is popular
- “What am I missing out on?” or “what’s going on?” is a common perspective/reason for use across different age profiles, particularly among females
- just because someone is educated or has a degree, does not automatically mean that they are exposed to multiple Web 2.0 applications
- mobile uptake may be being limited by time, effort or current device
So, Jenny was an intriguing interviewee, with quiet a few unpredictable uses of social media, and some interesting terminology and anecdotes. And the dwarfs…we’ll leave that for another blog
2 Comments
Hi Pete
This is really interesting… The survey you are conducting is impressing me because it helps to gain knowledge how different age groups are using web 2.0 tools in their day today life.
I actually wanted to add this point to the post “21 and web 2.0″ but I couldnt find a space to add comments. Anyway I just wanted to add something to that because we think Gen Y is really interested in using these new tools and technologies. But I have experience working with a guy in one of my project teams who is only using MSN and hotmail to check his emails. And during the project we had to use Google Docs to collaborate team documents and it was so hard to get this guy to work with Google Docs because he doesnt prefer to use any of those new things. And I was so surprised to hear that…. He doesnt have at least a facebook account which makes me more surprised. So I understood that there also can be few people in Gen Y that dont really use and not interested in web 2.0 tools.
Great work Pete and keep it up
Nadisha
thanks for you comments – definitely personality of a person has something to do with whether they use Web 2.0 or not. I have some outgoing friends who use no Web 2.0, but they were also slow in mobile phone adoption, but I have other friends who are not real techy but love trying out new social media applications. Most of my friends who experiment with new social media applications have some in depth technical knowledge, but this is not always the case. I think that we are currently in an era of change, which will be quite different in 10 years, that a person’s exposure to technology and applications is influenced by their circle of friends and workmates, while in the future everyone will have some knowledge about all of the major social applications and platforms
Interestingly from my perspective, is that assumptions about age groups can be difficult to make, as it depends upon the personality and life situation of the individual
cheers Pete
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