South Africa’s over-50s are making money on social media
· The South African
The rising cost of living has forced many South Africans to consider how to increase their income to avoid going broke.
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According to the Old Mutual Investment and Savings Monitor (OMSIM), this often means taking on a second job.
The report shows more people have another work-related income source in 2026 than in any period over the last five years.
Over-50s Use Social Media as a Second Income
Old Mutual released its Investment and Savings Monitor, surveying a sample of 1 519 people aged 18 and over. Most (63%) of participants were between 30 and 49, with 20% being over 50.
The report revealed that South Africans are supplementing their primary income with a second job.
Old Mutual describes this group as “polyjobbers.”
According to the data, 75% of those aged 18 to 29 are polyjobbers, no change from 2025. Next were those aged 30 to 49; 64% are polyjobbers in 2026, up three points from 2025.
The data revealed that 41% of those over 50 are polyjobbers, a ten percentage point increase from the previous year.
Surprisingly, most higher-income earners are polyjobbers.
When the data is divided among income brackets, 72% of those earning between R60 000 and R119 000 are polyjobbers. This dips to 56% among those earning between R8 000 and R14 999.
More females (63%) are polyjobbers compared to males (60%).
Income Bracket% PolyjobbersR8 000 – R14 99956%R15 000 – R29 99965%R30 000 – R59 99960%R60 000 – R119 99972%Social Media Becomes a Way to Make Money for Older Generations
Earning from social media increased across all demographics, with 62% of those 18-29 deriving some income from social platforms.
According to the report, 31% of respondents over 50 earned some income from social media.
Facebook was revealed to be most lucrative for social media earners. The data shows 36% reported earning some money on the platform, while 14% earned a significant amount.
WhatsApp was next, with 25% making some money on the platform and 12% earning a significant amount.
TikTok and YouTube followed. On TikTok, 23% reported earning some money and 8% reported earning a significant amount.
Then on YouTube, 22% reported earning any amount on the platform, compared to 9% who reported making significant amounts.
The Trope of a Tech-Illiterate Older Population is Outdated
To some, learning that over-50s are making their money online may be shocking. But the trope of a technologically unsavvy generation is outdated.
Anyone born before 1976 is over 50. They would have grown up in the tech age, considering the first personal computer (PC) was developed in 1971.
Many of the country’s over-50 population did their work on computers (and the internet) when starting their careers in the mid-90s.
The same applies to the over-60s and 70s who would have spent a few years on the job before the internet became a daily part of work life.
Facebook, the first social media platform to reach one billion users, launched in 2004. At the time, the youngest in this demographic was 28.
By 2012, when Facebook had 680 million users, this demographic was in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s. Perfectly capable and willing to join the social media hype.
Today, there are thousands of over-50 social media influencers. In South Africa, these influencers and content creators publish everything from videos about their daily lives to recipes and beyond.
Over-50s are Money Savvy
The over-50s also seem to be the most savvy with the money they’re earning from social media. According to the OMSIM, over-50s who gamble were the least likely to go into financial difficulty as a result of gambling.
The data reveals 77% of those who gamble in this age group have never gone into financial difficulty because of gambling. Whereas 55% and 56% of those between 18-29 and 29-30 entered financial difficulty because of their gambling habits.
The over-50s were also the smallest group of gamblers, with only 40% in this demographic answering “yes” to whether they gamble, far less than the over 50% who answered the same in younger generations.