This Unhealthy Habit Is Quietly Spreading Among Baby Boomers

People of all ages are spending increasingly more time on their phones and computers, mostly via social media. And while each generation has its preferred social media platform (such as Gen Z's love for Tik Tok or Millennials' fixation on Instagram), age barriers to the internet are dissolving by the day. Perhaps surprisingly, Baby Boomers are huge social media users, and their online presence and tech savviness has exploded over the past decade. Whether spending more time online is a good thing or not is up for debate, though.

In any case, it's clear that these days, older folks are good with computers. By the time Baby Boomers entered their 60s and 70s, most had already spent the majority of their adult lives using computers. Computers have been virtually everywhere for the past quarter of a century, so many Baby Boomers are now increasingly computer-savvy, especially when navigating the internet. And as social media bloomed over the past 20 years, Baby Boomers caught on. In fact, some surveys suggest a greater percentage of Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964) use Facebook than Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2025). What's clear is that most Baby Boomers devote a lot of time to surfing the web and engaging with social media.

Of course, not all Baby Boomer habits are pro-technology. While more people spend more time indoors and on their computers, many Boomers continue to advocate for childhood playtime instead of screentime. Outdoor play has been shown to be an "old-school" boomer habit beneficial for childhood development. Boomers are also the biggest generation of recyclers, and they are often the most active members of their local communities, a habit that's helping out planet Earth. These values may also steer Boomers towards social media, where they're able to interact with their communities and loved ones. Facebook is the perfect forum for such interactions; but it also has its downsides.

Boomers use social media to connect with friends, families, and communities. This has its obvious benefits: Social media allows people to see, hear, speak, and write directly to their loved ones across the world. It's clearly a powerful tool, which is why excessive use is an important healthcare concern. Indeed, too much smartphone screentime has been linked to memory problems, and an early-morning phone-checking habit can negatively affect mental health. Most concerningly, internet addiction is at an all-time high across the world.

As many as 14% of the global population claims to have an internet addiction, and around 27% say they struggle with smartphone addiction. As a whole, baby boomers have proven their adaptiveness to modern technology, but their susceptibility to the AI-powered algorithms that suck people into hours-long scrolling sessions and circular online debates is hard to qualify. Certainly, excessive internet and social media usage isn't healthy, but that doesn't stop marketing departments from targeting every demographic. The result is curated advertisements, eye-catching clickbait, and reminders to keep people online and on social media. There are "street smarts," and then there are "internet smarts." Many baby boomers have both.

Perhaps the most worrisome statistic comes from the Pew Research Center in 2021: the percentage of 50 to 64-year-olds who report being constantly online rose from 12% in 2015 to 22% in 2021. That means the number almost doubled in 6 years. Baby boomers prefer text-based platforms, but their engagement with all forms of social media appears to be on the rise. So are bots. Bots on social media sites like Reddit and Facebook flood comment sections, and most people struggle to distinguish between real humans and AI bots. Time will tell how each generation adapts.