While Baby Boomers have made big strides embracing the online world, particularly social networking such as Facebook, they're slower to get on board with online videos.
A new Pew Internet & American Life Project study shows that barely half (53 percent) of the 50-plus population have used the Internet to watch or download videos.
And what are they watching? News videos, more than anything else.
The study broke the online video habits of Americans into three age groups: 18 to 29, 30 to 49, and 50 plus.
Among everyone, 69 percent have watched or downloaded an online video, according to Pew:
- 84 percent among 18 to 29;
- 74 percent among 30 to 49;
- 53 percent among 50 and older.
And while a growing number of Americans are watching comedy online, Baby Boomers are sticking to news (59 percent), education videos and comedy (52 percent) and political videos (37 percent).
Pew also looked at the trend of uploading videos for others to see on the Internet.
"Video uploading is more common among internet users under age 50 than is it among older internet users," said the Pew study. "Roughly one in five internet users age 18-49 (18%) have uploaded a video online, while the same is true of just 10% of internet users age 50 and older."
Most of the videos are being uploaded to social networking sites, Facebook or MySpace.
Comments
Thus far, there are four scholarly books available on the subject of YouTube:
The YouTube Reader, (2009) Edited by Snickars and Vonderau.
YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture, (2009) by Burgess and Green.
Video Cultures: Media Technology and Everyday Creativity, (2009) Edited by Buckingham and Willettt.
and this one:
Watching YouTube: Extraordinary Videos by Ordinary People (University of Toronto Press, 2010).
Watching YouTube has been reviewed by the Globe and Mail ("Your Fifteen Minutes Have Arrived" Jenefer Curtis).
Another review can also be found at The Mark ("YouTube in Review").
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Home Movies in a Global Village
2. The Home and Family on YouTube
3. Video Diaries: The Real You in YouTube
4. Women of the ‘Tube
5. The YouTube Community
6. The YouTube Wars: Elections, Religion, and Armed Conflict
7. The Post-television Audience
Conclusion
-- Dr. Strangelove
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