By Lynn Walsh, Texas Watchdog

NPR is not just for members of the older generation results from recent National Public Radio social media surveys show.

According to the NPR surveys, the median age of an NPR radio listener is 50, Facebook fan is 40 and Twitter follower 35. NPR received more than 50,000 survey responses from their Facebook fans and Twitter followers and learned:

-55 percent of NPR Twitter fans follow between 2-5 NPR Twitter accounts
-About 75 percent of NPR Twitter followers and Facebook Fans interact with NPR content on a daily basis
-NPR Twitter followers and Facebook Fans interact with NPR using the radio, podcasts, mobile apps and the Internet
-More than 3 million of NPR's Twitter followers drive less than a fifth of the amount of referral traffic than the 1.25 million Facebook fans

The statistics go on and on and offer an amazing insight into how a news organization that is known for its popularity among the older generation is not just using social media but is capitalizing on it and seeing results with younger generations.

As reports show, news consumption is on the rise and these surveys prove that younger generations are consuming news just in different ways. According to a recent article featured on the social media and technology website, Mashable, NPR is not the only news organization seeing an audience shift in news consumption:

"Here’s a stat just for news sites: The average Facebook user who “likes” content on a news website is 34 — that’s about two decades younger than the average newspaper subscriber. We’ve known for some time that the future of journalism and social media are, at this point, inextricably linked; this stat provides a little hard evidence for that conclusion."

Looking at surveys by NPR and as a follower of many news outlet's social media accounts I think it is important to point out a few key finding in the NPR surveys.

1. NPR actively uses multiple social media accounts to interact with viewers. NPR has Twitter accounts based on subject matter (@NPRpolitics) and specific to shows (@NPRamericanlife.) The accounts not only exist but are active accounts in which they each interact with followers. According to the survey this is paying off:

"Following more NPR accounts equals a richer experience. We asked Twitter users to rate a series of statements on the 1-5 scale. Heavy users of NPR Twitter accounts (following 10+ accounts) were more likely to click through links posted Twitter than more casual followers of NPR Twitter accounts (1-5 accounts): 4.2 vs. 3.9 on a 1-5 scale respectively."

2. NPR Twitter and Facebook followers are news-centric. According to the survey, this applies to consumption of news by NPR and other news organizations. Social media followers are reading, viewing and listening to news using multiple platforms and multiple news organizations. Social media is a great tool to get news headlines out to the public, NPR said.

3. NPR Twitter and Facebook followers get most or all of their news online. Social media users prefer getting their news from online organizations. The debate over the future of print publications will continue and there may not be a known solution or answer anytime soon. One thing we do know is that online news consumption is a favorite among many.

NPR has capitalized and managed to effectively reach a younger audience through the use of social media. The use of multiple social media accounts, a variety of mobile apps, and the ease of free online access to podcasts has helped the news organization remain a major player in the ever-changing world of news while at the same time introducing a new, younger audience to what they have to offer.

The use of social media and new technologies by NPR is just one example of a news organization thinking out of the box and pushing forward during the challenging time news organizations are facing. NPR seems to be embracing the challenges and changes news organizations across the world are facing, are you?