Spain's online community: average age 45, 55 or 70?
A five-in-the-morning exchange sparks wild estimates: the average age of Spain's online community ranges from 45 to 70, with the mental age at…
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Retirees or teenagers? The real age of digital communities
On a Sunday at five in the morning, an awkward question kicks off a brawl: what is the real average age of this space? The answers come fast and range from 45 to 70, with a couple of participants pointing out that, in fact, a distinction should be made between chronological, physical and mental age. Psychology has been making that distinction for decades; the conversation, not so much.
Some claim the average age is around 70, while others bring the figure down to 45. The middle way suggests the problem is not how many years members have accumulated, but how many they display: the mental age in this environment is estimated somewhere between 7 and 8 years. From there, the exchange degenerates into insults and jabs that contribute little to the demographic calculation.
The anecdote reveals something more serious than it seems. If a digital community focused on economics has long been debating salaries, mortgages and pensions, knowing that its active core probably exceeds retirement age says a lot about the tone and priorities of the conversation. The jarring detail: the only geographic figure in the entire exchange is a satire about the GDP of the Valencian Community, antiestéticaturing fictional companies dedicated to creating multiple accounts. Not a single number about the real average age.
On a Sunday at five in the morning, an awkward question kicks off a brawl: what is the real average age of this space? The answers come fast and range from 45 to 70, with a couple of participants pointing out that, in fact, a distinction should be made between chronological, physical and mental age. Psychology has been making that distinction for decades; the conversation, not so much.
Some claim the average age is around 70, while others bring the figure down to 45. The middle way suggests the problem is not how many years members have accumulated, but how many they display: the mental age in this environment is estimated somewhere between 7 and 8 years. From there, the exchange degenerates into insults and jabs that contribute little to the demographic calculation.
The anecdote reveals something more serious than it seems. If a digital community focused on economics has long been debating salaries, mortgages and pensions, knowing that its active core probably exceeds retirement age says a lot about the tone and priorities of the conversation. The jarring detail: the only geographic figure in the entire exchange is a satire about the GDP of the Valencian Community, antiestéticaturing fictional companies dedicated to creating multiple accounts. Not a single number about the real average age.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (21 replies).
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