techPresident - Politics: Web 2.0 - Comments

facebook and age groups

annods — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:05:40 -0400

That the "appeal of Facebook" may be elusive to those before 1980 may be more the result of how it entered the world than of its intrinsic value to users of all ages. It was after all introduced through colleges first, and not many people of the older generation were attending classes at that time. Following the spread of Facebook will be like following the spread of a rumor.

I definitely agree with Michael - you can't generalize about the users of Facebook. I was first invited onto Facebook by my 78 year old father. I'm almost 53. I don't think I will ever be one concerned about my number of friends on Facebook, but I do use it to connect, share pictures, post sites, etc. When I post my views I know that I am sharing them with the full political spectrum - but not the huge audience that my children share with .....(except if they share what I share of course).

Some of the people in my age group have told me that they have found the exposure to different points of view is refreshing.......they are learning about the younger generation's point of view simply by having "friends" who are sons, daughters, neices, nephews, and the kid next door that has grown up and moved to London. A lot isn't gleaned by directly written information, but more about what groups and causes are joined. This exposure to other perspectives is a good thing.

http://bookandgarden.blogspot.com/

Also some fuel for ideas

Sito Wa — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:17:18 -0400

Yeah, also I was fueled with ideas from the following site www.omfica.org
Lot of interesting things for political scientists majoring in IT :)))))

Definitely yes to on-line Democracy

Sito Wa — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:12:31 -0400

I think that Internet will give an opportunity to build at least a virtual democratic society, since interactive nature of new media provides the audience an opportunity to participate in the communication flow, to select, frame, disseminate information and instantaneously react to it, serving, in some cases, as gate-keepers for traditional media outlets. As more blogs are gradually penetrating into and blurring with the mainstream media, the agenda-setting power of traditional media becomes questionable. Who, after all, sets the agenda in this new, two-sided model of mass communication?
I have a lot of works and ideas on that. Also alternative search engines do really matter

As someone born a decade before 1980...

Michael Turk — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:35:48 -0400

I don't know that you can generalize that way. I know a lot of people age 28 and above that get Facebook, and more imprtantly recognize it's potential impact as a social driver.

You have a valid point that support for candidates is not age restricted, though.

They raised the Facebook Pulse in the context that its results were not necessarily indicative of actual voting outcomes. In that way, the quote makes sense. It's possible that those who can't vote would skew the results. I don't remember that comment from the paper, so I'm not sure of the context. It seems to support the same argument.

I think the Pulse was useful in the same way that the MySpace/Facebook counts on this site are useful. They give you a view of a small subset of participants, but probably should not be extrapolated to make a larger point.

novice approach

Freedomfighter — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:23:11 -0400

When reading the following in the document "In some ways, the Facebook Election Pulse is even more flawed as a forecasting
device, insofar as users need not be old enough to vote, nor be eligible voters in the districts of the candidates they support." I am left stunned by politic ignorance of such writers. You do not have to vote for a candidate to give them support. You can volunteer to work them or give them money. The report however is right in saying basically anyone born before 1980 thinks facebook is just another website.