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.

I'm childless (working on it!) and think MN is more like "womens net" but we absolutely couldn't call it that

Thinking about it I very rarely read or post about dc.

I’m 60 and have been here at least 15 years. My DD is 30 and has been here at least 5 years. We both find plenty to relate to, despite being literally different generations!

There's more to talk about other than kids. Been here since 2009, not stopping yet because mine are in their mid 20s. None of my friends or family know I am on here.

Same here.

I am 62, retired and my offspring is approaching 30.

I would think I have been here at least 15 years, maybe longer (not sure how to check.) Mostly I look at AIBU for entertainment - definitely wouldn't come for advice. However, I have had useful tips from some of the other sections such as travel and food. I have also picked up lots of good ideas from the Christmas thread.

I don't really do other social media. I make very sporadic use of facebook but that's it. I have never done Instagram and only tweeted once in order to enter a competition, closed my account straight after.

Intrigued by the earlier comment by @ViciousCurrentBun that the interface is old-fashioned. Is it? How?

According to similarweb, the largest age cohort here is 25-34 (23.78%), with 10.51% 18-24, 16.07% 35-44, 17.58% 45 - 54, 17.93% 55-64 and 14.14% 65+. (Also, it claims that 33.75% of visitors are men). There's a LOT of content here that's not child related at all, including a childfree board - but I'd guess that there's still a kind of pattern of (most) people not really finding or being drawn to the site until they have children and then continuing to use it for different purposes.

Your colleague sounds like an insufferable know it all, though - it's one thing to ask what you use/enjoy about the site now that your children are older, but quite another to listen to your reasons and then argue with you! You can spend your time online wherever you like, no explanations needed.

At 67, no kids, I really enjoy (most of) the topics here. I love reading about fashion, dilemmas, books and reading, cooking, and all sorts. I sometimes forget I am the age I am since the majority of users are younger mums/women and it keeps me young and interested catching up with the latest thing!

I have no idea what Gransnet is for. But at the risk of being ageist, I tried it and it's definitely not for me! I think both forums should be merged, as most topics here and over there are common to all really and it would spread more knowledge and life experience to all users.

I'm 65 my children are 42 and 40. Grandchildren range from 20 down to 15.
I use Mumsnet and gransnet.
I don't think it's just for young mums. I read lots of different threads not all about
babies. I think it's good to read others aspects of life.

She clearly has never used mumsnet. The fun, whit of MN'ers keeps me here daily, after nearly 20 years.

Lol I have a 16 yr old DGC

The interface is very short of bells and whistles. But tbh I quite like it's simplicity.
There was a push at one time for tickers and other fluffy stuff, I'm glad MN resisted.

People who join when pg / new parents stay.

Constant in flow of new joiners, growing population of people who stay for life.

Who cares? Get the info / support / views and discussion on any board you find relevant.

I joined when I was about 30 and started having babies. I’m now nearly 50 and still here for the feminism, parking threads and, more recently, elderly parent threads.

Except that ‘Mums’ are for life, not just Christmas…

ie, we don’t stop being mums once they get to secondary school and most of our children don’t stop needing us even in adulthood.

I'm 63 with an adult DS and I think quite youthful. I find gransnet pretty dull stuff and I'm not a grandma, DS is not having kids.

I'm 60, been here since I was 44.

I enjoy the chat and the drama!

I'm childfree, and an EU expat in the UK, for me Mumsnet has been, and still is, a way to have access to British culture. I started by going on the Property board when I was buying my flat, then I discovered IABU, loved the drama and the fun of it.

Does your friend know what many of the posts aren't even about kids? I'm in my 40s now, both kids primary age but I can't see I'll be leaving the forum any time soon as its still very relevant for my stage of life 😁

You’re right. I stand corrected. It’s for everyone 😃

@CautiousLurker01 of course but presumably younger mums use some forums or maybe they don't.

I’m 40, with 2 kids under 5.
I joined when I was pregnant with dc 1 as I found the pregnancy and parenting chat very useful. I still use mn for the parenting threads but also like the lighthearted silly threads like ‘if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?’ 🤓

I am not sure I even know what a ticker is 😄

I’ve used MN for that too.
Its amazing how much I learnt that I didn’t with day to day interactions (mainly because aren’t as ‘blunt’ in RL as to why xyz is awful)

What I have noticed amongst a lot of MN users is less about age, more to do with a lack of a real life support network.

I think it’s more that there are millions of people on here, and many of them know things that I don’t - so it’s always worth asking.