Last week I asked readers a simple demographic question – ‘how old are you?’
My reason for asking wasn’t because I’m gathering data for advertisers (although I’m sure they’d be interested) but to test a theory that I’d been hearing a number of commentators say recently – that blogging is just something that ‘young people’ do.
In constructing the original poll I messed up the categories a little by having some 5 year ranges and some 10 year ones. This made it seem that the 31-40 year old range was the biggest – however when you add the 21-25 and 26-30 groups together it shows quite convincingly that the biggest group is actually 21 to 30 year olds.
Here’s how the spread of results look:
For those of you preferring to see the percentages:
- 57% of respondents are 30 or under
- 77% are 40 or under
- 88% are under 50
I guess the question of whether blogging is just for young people depends how you define ‘young’!
Don’t forget to vote in this week’s Poll which asks whether you disclose affiliate links.
I’m impressed with the 3% who are 70+. Nice results!
Damn, I am in a long tail …
I wonder who those 70+ are? I’ve never really known or met bloggers that old. They must be pretty cool grandpas or granmas.
I would bet the 21-30 number would have been higher a year or two ago. The rise of Facebook, Myspace and microblogs especially among the younger generation has reduced the numbers starting the traditional blogs.
I’m in middle, but older than the young ones :) Interesting findings Darren!
Brent
jhay, I’m 70. I don’t know how cool I am, but I’m a long-time netizen who maintains three blogs. Two are fairly new, but one has been going for over a year. Not one of them is a personal blog. And the least significant part of my identity is “granma.”
Darren, if you add up the over-40 groups, even without specific numbers, it turns out that over-40s are a significant percentage.
I am about 30 so i will be in majority list.
Happy to see that.
Definitely, the younger generations are more internet savvy, so there are more younger readers in problogger too.
Hey Darren, btw the graphs looks quite cool.
Wow.
Those statistics are surprising!
My father is 82 and just got himself a new Vista PC, highspeed internet access and an iPod. He is aware of my blog, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he asked for help getting one up and running for himself, despite the fact that he is legally blind. My Dad knows no limits and wants to stay hip to what all the “kids” are doing.
I’d like to see another graph here, how many readers each age segment has, I think that would be an interesting chart next to age ranges.
Hmmmmm – I appear to be among the lonely 2%. Apparently there is hope though. In a few more years I can move up to the 3% category.
By the way, really nice graphs!
My body is in the orange part but my mind is in the blue part and hope it stays there. I would hope to thing those who are senior citizens in body are also in the blue part as far as their mind goes. I’ve learned that as long as you have a heart for exploring and learning your mind will stay in the 20-30 bracket.
I’m thinking that there is at least one element in determining the accuracy of an age demographic query that may have skewed the poll results: the reticense of some bloggers to respond accurately to any query about their age.
Age discrimination hits everyone at least twice, before and after they find themselves in whatever age group the questioners consider “appropriate” or best for letting into full participation, or contributing full value on the job.
People sensitized to ageism by their experience or observation other people’s experiences will either change the numbers when responding, falsifying the data, or just not participate at all if it’s an option.
For that reason, I’m thinking there may be many more older bloggers than the poll indicates.
Because, online, one can be represented accurately only by what one produces, and personal information remain a mystery, people who have been discriminated against in the offline world can be very reticent to respond accurately, if at all, to queries about age or other information they habitually avoid disclosing.
no way are those stats surprising..
It is very clear that people in there 20s are the ones who are easily fascinated with the new word (the world of WWW) and blogging becomes there passion. Remember that most of the problogger readers are blogger as this blog is all about blogging
even I am also in that 21-30 range :)
I can’t believe it how many 70+ years old people read this blog.
I’ll do that kind of poll on my blog, but I’ll wait to get more visitors, at the moment it doesn’t have any sense.
Oooo i’ve contributed to the BIG BLUE PIE ^_^
So it shows that the MAJORITY of BLOGGERPRENUERS or PROBLOGGER-WANNABES are youngsters right? What’s your interpretation of the chart, Darren?
Thx for the wonderful info again ^_^
Not surprising to be honest. The internet is fairly new. Most older people did not grow up with it and shy away from it, accounting for the lower yield on those age categories. I bet as the internet population ages over the next 10-20 years, those poll percentages will probably equal out or possibly favour the older audiences, who have more spare time after retirement and will have grown up using the net and blogging.
As for younger audiences, most are probably too busy with facebook or myspace to be bothered with blogging. Younger people are usually less inclined to reading and writing as well and are busier with school, sports and other after school activities as well as lacking the life experiences to blog about any one particular subject.
nice graph Darren… to be part of the 38% Problogger Readers is enough for me.
I’m in that 41-50 bracket.
I’ve been working in the technology field for over 20 years now and I’ve been online in one form or another the whole time, either on dial-up BBS systems or Compu$erve back in the ‘stone age’ and, since about ’95, on the Internet. Most people who’re my age and working in tech are likely to embrace the Internet as much or more as any 20-something.
My observation is that most non-technical people in my age range primarily use the Internet for news that interests them or for ‘entertainment’. So, outside of technology, you aren’t as likely to see this age group participating in blogging or other new trends.
I’m glad that we don’t have to list our age in the blogs. I fall in the “orange” category but act and think like the “purple category” according to my wife and son.
I think people would perceive things in some blogs much differently if they knew the actual age of the blogger. Obviously advertisers do.
One thing about surveys and polls, I wonder what percentage of people do not provide the truth when responding?
Right smack dab in the 38%.
Darren — How old are you?
5-year ranges should not be a problem: just draw a histogram of the results instead of a bar chart. Why throw information away by merging classes which are popular enough anyway?
(I think you only *need* to merge if doing certain calculations and/or the number in a class is 5 or fewer, but it’s Sunday, so I’m not going to look up the reference right now…)
My personal observation: I think in many ways the 51-60 and the 61-70 have many similarities which should make them similar in percentage except one thing, the type of work they did (or do) and how much computer/Internet use it forced them to do. I have been interfacing with the Internet at home and at work for almost 15 years; and then throw in 3 years recently at university so it’s almost a second habitat for me. My acquaintances who are in the same age bracket have similar Internet familiarity while those just across the 60 divide are still working non-Internet linked industries and don’t have time to devote to it at present. That said I know many over 70 who are out of their comfort zone but have time and are determined to become a vocal presence on the Internet for as long as they can.
So I would be very interested in seeing the poll repeated and check in what direction the age-related peaks are shifting. Someone suggested it would move to the younger age groups but I wouldn’t be so sure about that.
Aside: I think I remember one of Darren’s bios listing his age as 34. [Let’s see how wrong that is.]
Next time you should add 80+ :)
Darren, what program did you use for the graphs? Numbers?
I would have thought, there are more ‘old’ bloggers.
As one of the “older” bloggers, I’m not surprised that there so few of us. The internet came along after we were grown and many of us don’t have to be “connected” all of the time.
I’m 35 – bit older than average ;-)
The graph speaks for itself. Clearly “younger” people tend to blog. They know about the internet, they know about what’s going on. The older crowd, as mentioned in other replies are not familiar or simply do not care. They are off reading the NYTimes for editorials and whatever info for all I care.
However, if all age groups in the world were tech savy, I bet you that graph would be dead even across all ages groups on who is blogging. Besides the teenie crowd though as they are too busy with Facebook/Myspace.
Basically that graph also is showing how much the older generation does not care/know/familiarized about the glory of the “internets.”
My age group is boss! Well, no surprise there! We are the most tech conscious.
I am 57 and have one active blog, and did a blog for the teen participants, leaders, and parents going on a mission trip this last summer. It was really comical the responses I got even from much younger people than me, when I said I was doing a blog to keep everyone informed. First thing was, A WHAT! Then some said they don’t do blogs, others questioned whether a blog was immoral! Oh well, it helped those who read it, and commented.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the older numbers increase significantly over the course of the next 10 years. Why? Those of us in the 50-65 age group are now retiring and that curve is going to go way up in the next few years. Expect to see a lot of older retired or freelancing professionals getting into blogging.
Very interesting. I’m 27 and my husband will turn 31 tomorrow. We are both aspiring “professional” bloggers and long time netizens.
I wonder how that 38% brakes down between 21-24 and 25-30.
Most of the people I know in that are in their 20s are more into the social networking thing. Young and single, you’re on myspace with party pictures and trying to meet someone.
Seems to me, blogging comes with settling down, having commitments.
I look forward to seeing this poll again in 10 years time.
So sorry I was on a cruise and missed the poll–my abscence certainly skewed it in the 2% 61-70 age category! I would love an anwer to Nick’s question. You rock, Patrick! Darren, I recently discovered you and you are like my blogging bible. Thank you for your contribution to the blogging universe. Mine is coming and it will blow your socks off. Sorry, I’m usually humble.
The results does not surprise me, I think that 21 or less are more into myspace thing and your site is about blogging for improve you income, or make this a way of living, so people at 21 start to think in way to improve their income, rather than asking dady for more money.
And people over 40, are people into computers, I think this is going to change as we get older :) I am 34 now.
Olive Riley, who lives in an aged care hostel in Woy Woy, 50 miles north of Sydney, is probably the world’s oldest blogger. She celebrated her 108th birthday on Saturday (October 20, 2007).
Physically frail but mentally alert, Olive raised her three children on her own, survived two world wars , the Great Depression of the 1930s, and worked as a barmaid, an egg sorter, and a station cook in may parts of Australia.
Olive’s blog, The Life of Riley, has a huge Internet following. Prepared by her friend, international film maker Mike Rubbo, and based on his interviews with Olive, it attracts hundreds of enthusiastic comments from many countries, and from bloggers of all ages. It’s posted on the Internet at http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/
Links
Olive’s blog http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/
Olive’sYouTube http://www.allaboutolive.com.au/
Mike Rubbo, film maker (Olive’s helper) http://www.mikerubbo.com/
World’s favourite grandma ftp://ftp.bdb.co.za/olive_riley.pdf
Life begins at 80… on the Internet http://bdb.co.za/shackle
I’ve met a few people in the past year who even resist learning how to send an email or have anything to do with computers. Highly intelligent people they are too but are just getting left behind. I try to persuade them that further down the line they will be leaving themselves highly dependent on other people to manage their financial affairs. I point out that It will be that annoying grabby son or daughter in law that will have total control. That gives them a jolt.
I think blogs are wonderful particularly for starting a business. It frees you up from being dependent on a web designer to get going with an idea that you want to float.
Hi Darren, I’m wondering if you have written any posts that target specific age groups? With almost 20% of your readership under 20, there might be scope for a once-a-week slot for blogging at school/college. Or maybe a monthly post for retirees. Just an idea.
Hi Darren – I am in the 30 – 40 category and have been blogging since 2004… I am not surprised by the bell curve…but I was surprised by the numbers over 70 + … I guess as time progresses the bell will move towards the 70 http://thoughtleadership.blogspot.com
I don’t really surprise at all, becauase my blogger friends are 20-30s, so No wonder the Problogger reader are 20-30s too…
Reggie – no I’ve not really targeted age groups – not sure how I’d do it here on this blog. Happy to take any suggestions though.
I’m nearing 50, and I’ve 3 blogs under my belt. The 21-30 group’s numerical superiority perhaps indicates they’re still on the lookout for something solid to settle their career with. And blogging does have an alluring prospect.
I think that’s cool that 70 year olds read your blog.
Yeah! I am in category of 21-30 and below 22 . You can know about your readers interest from their age group, what interest to them.
We’re rockin this poll, way to go guys (speaking to the 21-30 year olds)
The people who are interested in reading about problogging should be a bit older than the average blog writer, don’t you think?
At 46 I am in the generation that created the internet, or at least got it running up to speed. Why wouldn’t we be blogging?
When you think about it, blogging takes time – something many people with kids and jobs and civic duties etc have little time for. So of course the results might be skewed toward the younger set.
Being in our 30’s ourselves, at times we feel like we are a bit older than a lot of the people trying to make money online. For example, our gorgeous blog was designed by Unique Blog Designs, and they are all in their early 20’s.
However, it is good to see that we are not alone in our age group, and that there are many other older than us.
It may be a young persons game (We can’t believe we are saying this, when we still consider ourselves young!), but we are not going to let that discourage us! :)