Technology is not just for the young. Nearly 20 million people over the age of 65 are using the Internet, an increase of 55 percent over the last five years. Senior women are outpacing their male counterparts by about six percent in terms of regular Internet usage, although people over the age of 65 still make up less than ten percent of all active Internet users in the world. The numbers still show significant growth for a generation some younger users mistakenly think is not willing to accept or learn to use new technology.
More Seniors Online
A recent YouTube clip illustrates this point. An elderly couple posted their first YouTube video, not knowing that the camera was rolling. The couple fumbled around with settings and snipped at each other throughout the process, as married couples tend to do. The humor factor aside, the scene of an older couple being ushered into the modern age illustrates a rising trend of more seniors embracing technology. Seniors now spend about 58 hours a month online, a spike of 11 percent from 2004 figures. Chuck Schilling of Nielsen’s online division points out that many seniors are engaged in the same activities as other users: email, photo sharing, checking news and weather, checking movie times and social networking.
What Seniors Are Doing Online
This doesn’t mean that grandpa is following the latest goings-on of the Kardashian clan. A closer look at what seniors are doing online shows that most engage in age-appropriate pursuits such as searching for health-relating information, travel deals and keeping up on the latest financial news. Nearly 90 percent of seniors online check their personal email. Like the rest of the population, most seniors head to Google to perform routine searches. According to Nielsen figures, additional activities seniors perform while online after checking email include:
- Viewing maps or getting directions
- Checking weather
- Paying bills
- Viewing or posting photos
- Checking general or political news
- Viewing health-related information
- Planning a trip or viewing travel destinations
- Searching for recipes or meal preparation ideas
- Checking financial or business news
Seniors and Social Media
Betty White may think Facebook is a “huge waste of time,” but a growing number of seniors are beginning to see the advantage of using social networks. One senior, 78-year-old Mary Dysart Quint, admits to spending “way too much time” on Facebook. She added that she likes to “keep track of everybody.” According to findings from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, people over the age of 65 are the fastest-growing population among those joining Facebook. Sixteen percent of seniors now visit at least one social network on a regular basis, up from four percent just a few years ago.
A Connection to Others
Seniors are using Facebook and other forms of technology for the same reason their younger peers are, to reach out to others who share similar interests. Seniors have been slow to embrace the Internet, but those who are using it are noticing the benefits of staying connected. The AARP Facebook page has over 20,000 followers, an increase of 15 percent from 2009. AARP also updated its Website to make it more accessible to social network platforms and interactive forums. Nearly a thousand discussion groups have been created by users since the site made changes. As Ms. Quint observed, “You are never too old to learn something new.”
Tony Alvarez is a computer tech with an online granny. He writes for broadbandcomparison.org, a site where you can see mobile broadband deals data and see how relevant cheap broadband may be for your business or personal needs.
Image credit: Sea of Legs.
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