Baby Boomers and Gaming?

Healthy Baby Boomers Network host, Dr. Erica Goodstone, interviews Gaming expert Michelle Kaplan about the rising interest of baby boomers in the gaming world.

When you hear the word “social gamer,” do you immediately picture a pimply-faced teenager wearing headsets in front of a computer? Well, you might want to think again after you hear the results from recent studies on social gaming and Internet use.

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project revealed that social networking sites nearly doubled in usage among people ages 50 and older since last year, and has grown 100% among people ages 65 and older. Surprisingly, usage among these older groups is growing at a faster pace than younger generations.

Even more surprising is that 46 percent of social gamers are at least 50 years old and dominated by women, according to the 2010 Popcap Social Gaming Research.

Baby boomers are paving the way for the next generation social gaming sites. They enjoy playing multi-player games in real-time, making new friends and winning prizes on sites like Winster.com.