Rock & Roll Will Never Die? It Might on Facebook
The graying of the Facebook population seems to have continued according to new stats released today by iStrategyLabs. And while one might expect more of the site's now nearly 10 million users over the age of 55 to be Neil Young fans, his "Rock N' Roll Will Never Die" refrain seems to be falling through. The listing of the term "rock and roll" as an interest is down over 60% among Facebook users in the past year.
The statistics released today pertain to the 100 million U.S.-based Facebook users, which comprise nearly one-third of the site's entire user base. They seem to support a continuing trend for Facebook - the slow growth of young and marketable users joining the site compared with their elders. We took a look at the numbers six months ago and most of the indicators seem to be only growing stronger.
Now, a big number to look at before anything else is Facebook's nearly 145% growth in the past year, going from 40 million to over 100 million users since January last year. But where is this growth coming from?
When we last wrote about the graying Facebook population in July, users in the 55-plus demographic had skyrocketed from 1 million to nearly 6 million. This same population has now grown to nearly 10 million, a growth of 922% over the past year. This makes this age group now account for one of every 35 Facebook users. Is the boom in Baby Boomers a problem for Facebook or does it just open up new markets?
It seems that the numbers for users identifying as high school or college students have returned to positive growth, and the overall demographics of the site have remained steady. Despite the explosion of senior netizens on the site, the 55-plus group still make up only 9% of the site's entire user population, just 1% more than the last time we looked.
While the over-55 group has strong numbers, the other demographic groups are still primarily responsible for the site's exponential growth, each increasing by nearly 10 million users over the past six months.
Instead of seeing this as a problem for Facebook, maybe it's just a sign that the site is no longer popular just among teenyboppers and cool college kids. And maybe, just maybe - if we can all figure out the privacy settings - we can all coexist without our parents and grandparents ruining the party.
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I got a good chuckle out of you attributing the phrase "Rock N' Roll Will Never Die" to Neil Young; thanks. You'll have to go back to the beginning of rock to get to the origin of that phrase. If you like rock music you should find the research enjoyable.
ROCK AND ROLL IS HERE TO STAY
(This is the first lyric I can recall with that phrase. Now all you need to do is Google for the artist.)
Rock 'n roll is here to stay,
it will never die
It was meant to be that way,
though I don't know why
I don't care what people say,
rock 'n roll is here to stay
(We don't care what people say,
rock 'n roll is here to stay)
Now, now, I didn't say Neil Young came up with the phrase, but surely you've had that whiney song stuck in your head before, no? :)
I have a problem with the huge increase of 'over 55's. When you sign up for FB it asks for your age. MANY kids who do not want to admit their true age put '99 years old'. That's got to inflate the over 55 category.
I don't believe these statistics at all (re: 3.9 million to 1.3 million listing "rock and roll".) Makes no sense. I'm betting it's an error in calculation somehow.
For such a stat to be accurate at least 2 out of every 3 people listing this interest deleted it (assuming that no new members listed it, which is absurd.)
Obviously incorrect!
Surely the use of the phrase "rock & roll" is a sign of being over 55? Sheesh, I never use it in relation to music other than that of the 50s. Rock music, dance, techno, folk, electro, you name it - most people who are fans of music put it into more specific boxes and would list their interests as those. Personally, I just have the word music and a long list of favourites (I'm only 34, by the way).
When I was a teen many in the social media;teachers;parents
all said "Rock n Roll" was a fad and would soon dissapear.Why make a fuss.It will soon go away.Tell that to the Rolling Stones.It's still alive; as I said "it is here to stay."
Donnacha is correct-Neil Young never recorded much Rock n Roll, except for that Rockabilly album he put out in the eighties. By the time Buffalo Springfield came along, it had already been shortened to just "rock music". Though the Beatles and the Beach Boys started out playing Rock n Roll, they were a big part of its transformation into the more art-oriented Rock. Post-psychedelia and Woodstock, the rock n roll pretty much faded out, though you'll still occasionally hear its echoes in the odd Avril Lavigne or Green Day track.
Cut out "69" to filter out joke ages.
Can anyone tell me where I can find up to date statistics on ages of Facebook users for other countries - specifically UK?
I'd think the biggest story out of those stats is the -55% for current college students...is that correct?! Considering only 25% (at most) graduated, did tons of college students delete their accounts?
Why would anyone use Facebook when they can use MySpace instread??
RT
www.total-anonymity.at.tc
My My Hey Hey
Rock and Roll is Here to Stay
It's Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World
Might be because "older" folks use it to reconnect with "lost" friends while younger folks are still connected and my use other social networking or just plain texting to communicate?
wrt the increase in those over 55: The exact numbers might be off, but it's easy for me to believe that more over-55 folks are getting accounts on facebook. I say that because I'm over 50, and I know plenty of people around my age that have recently joined facebook. They do it to keep in touch with their kids or (more likely) grandkids, or they do it to keep in touch with their over-50 friends who are having fun.
It would be interesting to see if there is an unusual number of people who claim to be 69 or 99, but I suspect the statistics are reasonably close to correct. Also note that new users are not asked to "state their age", they're asked "what is your birthday".
Just because Neil Young didn't come up with the phrase doesn't mean he's not the one who didn't make it popular.
Rock on!!
Expect a new genre of music to hit the scene. It is going to be heavily digitalized... More focus on synthesized music vs instrumental playing. There is still going to be a lot of talent, but it is going to be much different.
not for nothing, when musicians have to construct pie charts proving the possibility for exponential growth fiscally upon investment in their projects,Rock and Roll could be argued to be dying. The Elephant in the room that few of us musicians will admit to however, is that we've been made just as comfortable by the corporate greed plaguing this world as anyone else.
As long as we continue to try to "play the game"
we can only lose, and lose terribly. We have to unite in supporting each other to tour this great country to let every person within shrieking distance to know we are still here, or Rock really is dead.
Chris Colantuono
Cruel Road
I just wanted to let everyone know about a new forum for artists as well as musicians, fashion designers, and filmmakers, As an artist I think that the mission is really great. The site gives you a free gigabyte of space for portfolio, there is no commission taken for sales, audio and visual works can been streamed in their entirety, you can create live personal broadcasts for your followers, and anything you write will be translated into 10 languages. So check it out!
OK So I guess I've been given the menial task to do the research on who sang the words first "Rock n' Roll Will Never Die". It's Danny and the Juniors.
http://tabcrawler.com/2413504/Danny-and-The-Juniors/Rock-'N-Roll-Is-Here-To-Stay-Lyrics
However, with that said, I still say Neil Young is the One who coined the phrase in our heads and made it an earwhig, not Danny and the Juniors.
.....And so what if we got a few stray gray hairs growing outta our heads. Does she or doesn't she? (a well known phrase from a commerical for hair dye back back in the 70's for those who ahve no clue) Well I do. I know who Spearhead is and I like them. So there.
Scary post!
Especially considering the fact that I run a Rock and Roll lifestyle magazine, and at present we focus most of our publicity efforts around targeted facebook campaigns!
L
Long live Rock & Roll.
Your girl Mary :)
Long live the greatest genre ever.
Your girl Mary :)