More Middle-Aged People Than Teenagers Hooked on Social Media

Users of social media in their 50s now outnumber those in their teens in Seoul. And the number of subscribers to Facebook and Twitter is the highest in the Jung, Yeongdeungpo and Gangnam districts.

SK Telecom on Monday released a study of users who accessed social media more than once last month and found that around 660,000 are in their 50s compared to around 600,000 in their teens.

Among the total 7.74 million users, 50-somethings account for 8.5 percent and teenagers for 7.7 percent.

Users in their 20s make up the biggest group with 34.6 percent (2.68 million), followed by those in their 30s (29.5 percent or 2.28 million), and 40s (16.5 percent or 1.28 million).

Some 250,000 people over 60s also use social media, making up 3.2 percent.

An SK Telecom spokesman described the findings as "surprising." "It looks like people in their 50s have become hooked on communicating via social media on their smartphones," he said.