Who is correct re age of Mumsnet user?

[polkaloca]

I was at work the other day searching for a camping recommendation on MNs. Colleague said to me "why do you still use mumsnet?". I gave a variety of reasons but she thought it was odd I was still a user despite my dc being well into primary school. She said but isn't everyone on there because they have babies/toddlers. Now I did in fact join for pregnancy advice in my late 20s but am still here nearly 10 yrs later. I said as a millennial I'm definitely one of the younger users & I would say the average user is probably 55/60. She thought I was talking nonsense & said well who uses Gransnet?.

Am I talking nonsense? So many posts reference things before my time that I think unless you are on specific boards eg pregnancy/birth that users are older. Nothing wrong with that but I do think the media gives the impression that the average user is much younger. And finally what do younger people use instead? Colleague said she has not used MNs for years & looks for advice on instagram.

There are also people on Mumsnet that do have DC, of all age brackets.

Show her the list of active threads and conversation over

Not really, it very much depends what is active at the time. She is 38 but has a 17 yr old (& much younger dc) so lots of uni conversations. She is also the youngest of 5 so has an elderly parent, her mum died young. On that day a lot of threads were about Trump & relationships so without actually reading them age of the poster wasn't particularly indicative.

I tend to think everyone is in their 50s and I rarely read posts from parents potty training and baby led weaning. But I think we select the posts which apply to us and that skews our experience. Although I do tend to think there's a MN rhetoric which doesn't seem to reflect my real life in any way.
I'm in my 50s, kids mainly grown up. I've been here since the days of MN royalty.

The long list of active threads pretty much always includes

Why isn’t my property selling?
Would you accept this job?
Is this enough to retire on?
what holidays are you going on this year?
Should I leave him?
should I charge my 22 year old DS rent?
my husband of 26 year has just left me

I started Mumsnet about 3 years ago I’m 47. I do have a ten year old.

To late to edit..

That should read don't have DC.

Only yesterday I was on a thread when someone replied that they were in their late 40's, single, no DC...

So open to all.

I'm not a mum.

54 ..you never stop being a mum! However I am basically just nosy and I love learning about other peoples lives.

I don't know - perhaps the pregnancy boards are different, it's 11 years since I've been there. I'm still in touch via Whatsapp with many of the mums on the due date thread I was on; our "babies" are all turning 11! 😱

I think if I posted in AIBU or Chat about being 19, pregnant, a uni student and not knowing what to do I'd be torn to shreds. It was the support of people on MN that helped me believe I could keep my baby, continue with university, graduate on time etc and that's exactly what I did.

@itsjustbiology at least you are honest!

I’m in my 20’s & pregnant with my second child- the ttc/pregnancy/conception threads etc do have more my age I find

@iwentjasonwaterfalls nice to hear about the support you had & well
done. I found lots of support about pumping and combo feeding as it was really hard to get that information from midwives.

I think if I posted in AIBU or Chat about being 19, pregnant, a uni student and not knowing what to do I'd be torn to shreds.

I'd like to think not but AIBU can attract some peculiar posters. I don't really get it tbh, there are a million other things to do if you are bored as opposed to laying into a person on a forum. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m here for the drama. I wouldn’t dream of taking advice from mumsnet. The advice here is batshit . It seems to be ruled by eternally online, anxiety-ridden misanthropes who have no idea how to carry out basic human interactions

Am I the oldest one on here? Gran of 75. With ND grandchildren I have found some of the threads on here very informative. Also interested in the news and politics threads and of course, some of the parking threads and CF threads!

I've had good advice on baby boards and I always have had good travel recommendations particularly in the UK. Plus some good product recommendations on style and beauty. A lot of other social media is sponsored or someone trying to be an influencer so I don't really trust it.

@Dahliasrule there was an 86 yr old on a thread I was on about dresses so no!

Lol, I have had helpful advice of the practical variety. But I've been here long enough that I can predict which way a thread is going to go, I'll read the OP and think, oops it was a mistake to mention (or not mention) that, the MN massive is going to seize on it.
I often think people here just do not represent my real life in any way, there is also a lot of appalling snobbery.

Ex Gransnet. Aged 70. Mother and grandmother. Love the breadth, wealth of knowledge, confidence and verve of MN.

Not proud of what?

Well yes not everyone is a mum on MN.

It's open to men as well.

@namechangedboomer do you mean you left Gransnet?

But I've been here long enough that I can predict which way a thread is going to go, I'll read the OP and think, oops it was a mistake to mention (or not mention) that, the MN massive is going to seize on it.

That's so true & it's weird how it can just turn but a similar thread another time will get a different response.

Same, and I agree with this - there are millions of users on this forum and your age and interests will tend to skew your experience. IIRC MN official stats are the majority of users are 20-35 (tho I may have got that wrong), but I’m aware that posters on the chats I’m on are often 40-60.

Your friend hasn’t spent long enough on here to get it.
There are loads of different types of boards, including mental health for example where it doesn’t matter if you have kids or what age you/ they are.
Not everyone finds mn because they are searching for advice about pregnancy/ kids.
It is very big. Not everyone uses it by scrolling through active threads, which makes it seem smaller than it is. Some users stick to one or two boards.
The fact that it has the name MN is a good cover for stopping it from being dominated by men or turning it into an alternative Reddit.
If they turned it into WomensNet or some such, it would be a red flag to a bull. We would be inundated with men. It would change the whole tone of the site and some would be here because they are incels etc (this is already happening increasingly often and is starting to change the experience of using mn imho).
That’s the sad truth. As it stands, the Mums part of the name helps it to fly under the radar so to speak.
The age demographic on here is not the relevant thing. It’s the fact it’s mainly women. Sometimes women want to chat to other women, about female specific issues or just about things like tv shows, without men coming in and taking over the conversation entirely.

Is your colleague generally one to say something is “nonsense” if it’s not her view?