22% of Twitter audience over 50 years old

New UK research from Nielsen Online reveals that 50-64 year old users account for 22% of the entire Twitter audience, compared with just 11% of 18-24 year-olds.

The biggest share of the audience is 35-49 year olds (33%), followed by 50-64 year olds (22%) and 25-34 year olds (22%), said Nielsen.

A year ago the share of 25-34-year-olds using the site was 5% higher.

The 50-64 year old age group was also the fastest growing demographic in terms of unique visits to the site, with an increase of 1,926%.

However, US research published last week by comScore said that there has been a surge in the number of under-18s signing-up to the service.

It added that there are notable increases in users from the 12-17 and 18-24 year old groups, which are coming at the expense of the 35 year old and overs.

Alex Burmaster, Nielsen Online communications director for the UK and EMEA, said, “There’s a feeling that social media is driven by youth but Twitter is a whole generation up in terms of who’s using it.

“We also find there’s a preoccupation with targeting younger users even though older consumers are less fickle, more loyal and have more disposable income. Twitter offers a good opportunity to target this audience.”