We tend to picture them glued to the TV and radio.

We assume they’re out of touch with the latest digital trends.

And yet, 50–64-year-olds are now one of the most diverse demographics in the French media landscape.

According to Médiamétrie (a French company specializing in audience measurement and the study of audiovisual and digital media usage), the 13.2 million French people aged 50 to 64 (or nearly one in five) do not form a homogeneous group.

Their professional activity and whether they have children living at home profoundly shape their media habits.

Contrary to popular belief, many 50–64-year-olds still have their children living at home, sometimes up to age 25, and this significantly accelerates their adoption of digital technology.

Parents also spend more time online: 4 hours and 24 minutes per day, which is 1 hour and 38 minutes more than those without children.

Every day, 86.8% of people aged 50–64 go online, a rate slightly higher than that of those aged 15–24 and 25–49.

Furthermore, they use the same social media platforms as those aged 25–49, with Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram leading the way.

Their enthusiasm for mobile games is just as striking: 31% daily reach—the same level as among 15–24-year-olds—with 24 minutes spent each day on games like Candy Crush or Royal Match.

Conversational artificial intelligence is also gaining ground, with 4.8% of users using it daily by June 2025.

People aged 50–64 thus represent a transitional generation today—one that is deeply hybrid.

They remain loyal to traditional media but are fully engaged in digital practices.

They are well-equipped, financially secure, curious, and still largely active in the workforce.

For brands, reducing them to a traditional audience would be a strategic mistake.

Their media consumption is neither a thing of the past nor the future, but a subtle balance between the two.

And that is precisely what makes them such a valuable target audience.