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.

Well I’m 75….

But the 40 year olds in 2013 are now 52 lol

No, we're not all mums.

I'm mid 30s, I came over from Babycentre about 5 years ago because the WYOO forum got really strict and weird.

My youngest is in primary, oldest is about to turn 18.

Gransnet can be very dull I feel. I'm 53 and feel very very young on there

Doesn't help they show pictures of grey haired women " old fashioned granny style" either

Nor me. I’m 40 and have been using Mumsnet, on and off and under a few usernames, for around 15 years. Google brought me to the Litterbox when I wanted advice about my cat and at first I stuck to that area but after a while explored some of the other areas, I loved the drama of AIBU and used to spend a long time on there. I love being part of a forum which is predominately female and I think that’s why I stay despite not being a parent.

I’ve never even glanced at Gransnet. I’ll be 53 soon and have a 13 year old! Which I suppose only emphasises the ‘different life stages’ thing.

That's 12 years ago so perhaps the age has gone up by a similar amount. I'm in my 50s and feel fairy mid range age wise.

I am 44, joined 15 years ago.

I joined for chat and aibu, not so much parenting advice.

@gingercat02 couldn't find any more recent demographic info.

I’m 48 but hopefully not heading to “gransnet” anytime soon as my ds is only 11!

I'm in my 50s, have been on mn on an off for over 20 years, sometimes with years in between, had different accounts and countless name changes.

I have three DCs and soon to be dgc.

IIRC MN official stats are the majority of users are 20-35 (tho I may have got that wrong),

@EnjoythemoneyJane I don't see how that can be true tbh

Your friend hasn’t spent long enough on here to get it.

No she hasn't, she only used it for a bit.

@Gogogo12345 fair enough.

Meant to add I love the range of ages and lives here, I don't get to hear opinions or life experiences from such a wide variety of people in real life.

And I still ask advice re DCs, parents, inlaws, work.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Joined after googling ‘why is my baby going red in the face, crying and pulling his ear?’ - still here about 18 years later and getting lots of great advice about university applications. IME the age range depends how old you were when you first needed advice about babies/children/life!

@SolielMoonSky
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.

Yes!
I'm childless (working on it!) and think MN is more like "womens net" but we absolutely couldn't call it that. The "mums" bit makes a certain type of man assume we're all talking about weaning and teething, and stay away.

Absolutely I left Gransnet @polkaloca which comparatively seems small and slow. There are some lovely posters there but I won’t return.
I fully enjoy the opportunity to name change and have been on a few threads with you @EnjoythemoneyJane…

I started using MN when I was pg with dc2. He is now early 20…..

How I’m using MN and why has changed over the years. But yes tyere is something for everyone. Not just younger women with babies.

@DahliasruleNo you’re not

I agree with this actually. I think it’s quite an old fashioned vibe and wouldn’t appeal to younger mums as much as the older stalwart crew. I’m 60

Your colleague is thinking of netmums.

I think theres a really wide range from 20s to 70s imo.

However, i reckon the biggest clump of people will be the women who joined when MN first started and was being heavily advertised when they were having babies for the first time, and hence there will now be loads of late forties ro.mid fifities women from that period, with early twenties kids.

My eldest is about to leave school and go to university. I have no plans to stop using mumsnet.

I actually use it more for women's rights chat these days.