Many people think of genealogy as a hobby for retirees, but that stereotype is being challenged.
According to Ancestry.com.au's managing director, quoted in the Australian Daily Telegraph, 38% of the Web site's users were ages 15-24. Josh Hanna added that the number of users 35 and under grew significantly last year.
Reasons quoted were the popularity of reality gen shows such as the UK's "Who Do You Think You Are?", the fact that the world is getting smaller through technology, and an uptick in travel by young people to places where their ancestors lived.
That good to hear being that I started several years back at the age of 23. Unfortunately I haven't met any other young genealogists yet. But it's good to know it's a growing demographic.
ReplyDeleteAlso good to hear. I am 27 and have been researching for about a year now. I love it and have had a hard time finding others in my age bracket who are interested in this.
ReplyDeleteTo our younger genealogists,
ReplyDeleteYou might consider joining up with your local Jewish genealogical society. The list is at www.iajgs.org
Also, the annual international Jewish genealogy conferences also see younger researchers attending. The next one is July 15-20, 2007 in Salt Lake City, www.slc2007.org for all details. The August 2008 conference will be Chicago.
Best wishes,
Schelly