Fact or Fallacy

Everywhere we go, it seems that people believe that MySpace is for young people and Facebook is for an older crowd. Translation: brands perceive there is more value to being on Facebook than on MySpace.

Another report came out just today that said the same thing. Basically, it states that the “ideal” age group for Facebook is 18 – 34 and MySpace is 15 – 24.

Comscore tells a pretty different story. In the US, according to data accessed two weeks ago 46% of MySpace users are between 18 and 34; Facebook shows an identical percentage and breakdown. 27% of Facebook users are between 12 and 17; on MySpace, 27% of its users are between 12 and 17. MySpace says that 15% of its users are between 35 and 49; Facebook says that 16% of its users are too.

The story with respect to income is quite similar. 19% of Facebook users report an annual income of $30k or less, 22% of MySpace users do. 26% of MySpace users report an annual income between $60k and $100k; 29% of Facebook users do. The breakdowns are as similar for those with $100k+ (25% versus 29% MySpace/Facebook) and those between $30k and $60k (27% versus 25% MySpace/Facebook).

So, why the perception that MySpace is for young and not as affluent and Facebook is for the older, affluent member? Perhaps it’s because Facebook is more familiar to brand decision makers and they project their sample of one, to their own opinions about social networks. If you let the data do the talking though, the story is quite different.