You look as if you’ve seen a ghost. And if that ghost was on a billboard, it probably came from text and photo messaging application purveyors Snapchat in Venice, according to the Los Angeles Times. The friendly ghost was dispatched as a way to stir conversation, particularly between younger people and their parents or even grandparents interested in going deeper into 21st century social media.

That conversation is taking hold, thanks in part to those billboards which launched in late 2014. Over the last year in the U.S., Snapchat added 25-to-34-year-old users (up 103 percent) and older-than-35 users (84 percent) faster than 18-to-24-year-old users (56 percent), according to measurement firm Comscore. The findings attribute Snapchat’s growth to parents and older siblings looking to stay in touch with younger family members, according to some experts tied to the study.

Ads are integral to Snapchat’s revenue strategy, which is steadily being implemented, according to the Los Angeles Times. Older consumers have higher incomes this will be attractive to advertisers. Velasco-Castillo also cited that Snapchat’s appeal to the older smartphone user is that it is more visual, “spontaneous, candid and, most importantly, immediate” than other chat options.

Business uses are also engaging the 35+ market. Wall Street bankers told New York Magazine that they liked Snapchat’s self-destructing chat feature. University admissions officers have used it as a recruiting tool. Marketers, of course, are trying it. Most notably, it was heavily used during President Obama’s final State of the Union speech.

While the average American spent about 37 hours a month on their smartphones in 2014 (up more than 14 hours from two years earlier, according to Nielsen), it was the 35 to 44 group that was reported to spend the most time with their phones at about 43 hours a month.