A new report from comScore today says 51.6 percent of MySpace users in August were over 35. Given MySpace’s reputation, we were as surprised as many other bloggers who assumed MySpace is for the young’uns.
We called Fox Interactive spokesperson Ann Burkart to ask if comScore is off the deep end on this one, and she said the numbers are actually totally accurate with what MySpace is seeing internally. According to comScore, the 35+ crowd makes up a growing portion of the site, having been about 39.5 percent a year ago. Burkart’s explanation is that as MySpace expands it is becoming more representative of the population as a whole. Well…another common assumption — that the old people on MySpace are pervs — should probably go down the drain as well, or these figures are a sad comment on human nature.
2 trackbacks so far
10:57 PM PT
[...] - Myspace demo over 35 [...]
2:19 AM PT
[...] news from comScore that 51.6 percent of MySpace users in August were over 35, subsequently confirmed by Fox Interactive. Published Oct 06 2006, 10:08 PM by Robin Grant Filed under: social networks, key insights, [...]
10 comments so far
4:33 PM PT
…or as blender would call them (errr…i mean ‘us’), “aging hipsters”
who even goes on that site anymore? can’t we just start our own gigaom sexy web cam group and circulate our own russian bride prospects?
4:51 PM PT
It doesn’t sound very realistic. It’s also not clear from the pr how they got these numbers.
5:09 PM PT
Has anybody seen the new report issued by Brad Greenspan, the MySpace founder and Chairman? This is unbelievable stuff! It includes actual emails!!
(link)
PS make sure to check out the “founding of myspace” section
5:27 PM PT
Wow, that’s surprising. Among many of my friends and coworkers, it seems a decent percentage of those in their 20s use it and none in their 30s (including me).
6:04 PM PT
I think
a) a number of parents are creating accounts to see what their kids are doing
b) a number of young people are faking their age so they don’t get stalked
but then again I barely know what MySpace is …
6:48 PM PT
And exactly how did MySpace arrive at this average age - by the age submitted for profiles? Like when 95% of all under 14 year olds (have to fudge to meet TOS’s) claim to be 90 years old. Just think the numbers being quoted may be a little skewed - and perhaps not a bad PR move for MySpace in a blogosphere where the adults/parents get their information. Just food for thought.
8:56 PM PT
“Well…another common assumption — that the old people on MySpace are pervs — should probably go down the drain as well, or these figures are a sad comment on human nature.”
That’s great. This is why I love reading GigaOM.
11:23 PM PT
Bzzzt. Tons of fake ages in myspace. Hell, mine is listed as 90. Get enough 90s in there and they pull the 14s up to the 30s. I think I’ll change mine so it says I’m two years old.
12:15 AM PT
I can’t believe people are still talking about MySpace. It’s like a giant UFO crashing into the ground in slow motion. Unless I was a high school student or promoting a band I would be embarassed and humiliated to have a MySpace page. My girlfriend is in college and uses FaceBook to collaberate with classmates and even her professors and TAs. It’s everything good about MySpace without the slow loading, often-crashing, three ring circus web pages.
I think the average/median age claim is an ulterior PR-based loaded figure. Rupert Murdoch is literally a media genius, well at least when it comes to making money — Thus I’m sure he has something trixy in the works for MySpace.
3:22 PM PT
Our media planners are getting confirmations from MySpace reps themselves that a “significant minority” of the ages over 60 are fake (144 year-old cheerleaders, etc.) and this pulls down the demographics.
George Revutsky
ROI.works Search Marketing
Leave a Comment