It’s 2017, and the conventional wisdom about social media is that it fits with millennials just like peanut butter and jelly. However, a recent Nielsen report reveals that adults ages 35 to 49 are actually spending more time on social media than those from ages 18 to 34, The New York Times reports. It’s now safe to say that your mom isn’t the only one posting awkward family photos on Facebook 24/7.
The study shows that 35- to 49-year-olds (known as Generation X) spend a weekly average of six hours and 58 minutes on social media, as opposed to six hours and 19 minutes for millennials. Adults who are 50 and over spend about four hours and nine minutes. These figures resulted from 9,000 smartphone and 1,300 tablet users’ data nationwide.
“Our generation was really the first adult generation to grow up with Facebook,” Sean Casey, president of Nielsen’s social divison, told the Times. At 46 years old, he’s included in this social media-obsessed group. “At a time when we wanted to be connected, it came out right when we were at the top of our media consumption. It’s become second nature to our generation.”
The report also proved that Facebook is the most popular network for mobile users; a huge reason why is because of adults 35 to 49, who count for 42 percent of users interacting with TV-related content on the network—therefore using two screens simultaneously.
The next time your parents or older relatives make fun of you for constantly being on your phone, whip this study out to prove them wrong!