UK online sites target the sociable over 50s

The social-networking website Facebook may have a reputation as online space where hip young things hang out swapping stories but an increasing number of the over-50s in the UK are signing up to Facebook and its main competitor MySpace.

Facebook began as an online scrapbook for American college students to swap yarns and photos but research has now shown that one third of users are aged between 35 and 54, with the growing population of over 50s online encouraging the development of new social networking sites.

In the UK new sites now include MyChumsClub and Saga Zone offering friendship and the opportunity to meet new cyber-friends in the real world. The founder of MyChumsClub, Andrew Thatcher, believes his site is Facebook without the risk, and provides an antidote to not having a job.

“Older people lose around half their social network when they leave work. This gives them a chance to find it again,” he said. “We organise foreign trips and other activities so that people can meet each other in the real world. Older users have similar privacy needs to children under 15; they need protecting from exploitation. We have a strict vetting process so that you know that you’re safe from unscrupulous emails.”

MyChumsClub asks users to pay a $100 subscription fee which means they are not exposed to advertising on the site and have a degree of exclusivity which Facebook cannot provide. In exchange subscribers can meet in person and can travel on group holidays organised by the site.

In the UK it is estimated that the over 50s own around 80% of the country’s wealth and account for 40% of the consumer market, a big ongoing attraction for a successful social networking online site.