Aug

What are Wired Seniors doing online?

Posted by Ken Published in Internet Marketing

Pretty much the same thing everyone else is, just slower. Hey, I’m kidding! In the Real World, seniors are doing what everyone else is doing. Except kids - they spend more time socializing and playing online games. Hey, wait - I know a few seniors who’ll spend hours at a time playing online poker. (sorry, Dad)

Email is the most popular online activity, especially for internet users age 65 or older. However, the best place to reach someone age 70 and older is still offline. Only 26% of Americans age 70-75 and 17% of Americans age 76 or older go online. (Fox, 2005)

66% of wired seniors had looked for health or medical information online at some point in their online life by the end of 2003. That is a 13-point jump since 2000, and a growth rate of 25%. And online seniors are much more likely than other Internet users to have logged on to get information about Medicare and Medicaid. 66% of wired seniors had done product research online by the end of 2003. That is an 18-point jump since 2000, and a growth rate of 38%. (Fox S. , 2004)

Senior elites are enthusiastic surfers, and wealthy and educated seniors are most likely to go online. Many of these extraordinary seniors have been coaxed online by their children and grandchildren. They have become enthusiastic Internet users who love email and use the Web to gather all kinds of information that helps or entertains them.

Wired seniors are more likely than their offline peers to be married, highly educated, and enjoying relatively high retirement incomes. More senior men than senior women use the Internet.
84% of wired seniors say they first got Internet access for reasons unrelated to work or school. Of those, 48% say they were encouraged to do so by family members a higher percentage than any other age group.
Nearly 3 in 5 online senior citizens (56%) say that the Internet has improved their connections with family.
Wired seniors are devoted Internet users 69% of wired seniors go online on a typical day, compared to 56% of all Internet users. (Fox S. , Wired Seniors: A fervent few, inspired by family ties, 2001)

Research by SeniorMag.com confirmed these findings.

The main reason seniors start using computers is because of e-mail. Next, they begin researching topics such as health, investing and entertainment. Then, they start shopping and join discussion groups.

Older Americans also have financial clout, which should also attract marketer’s attention. According to the American Banking Association, older adults own 77 percent of the country’s financial assets. It is just a matter of mistaken assumption right now that seniors are not using the Internet.

It is truly amazing that corporate America has yet to wake up to the idea that seniors are online with many retirees spending hours online every day and learning to shop online as well. (Trogg)

Most sources agree that once seniors get online, they are often as enthusiastic as younger users in the major activities that define online life such as email and the use of search engines to answer a specific question. Also, wired seniors are as likely as younger users to go online on a typical day.

In the next installment, we’ll examine how marketers are now beginning to capitalize on this trend.

Ken Ivey

Works Cited
Fox, S. (2005, December). Generations Online. Retrieved August 27, 2007, from PewInternet.org: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/170/report_display.asp

Fox, S. (2004, March 28). Older Americans and the Internet. Retrieved August 27, 2007, from PewInternet.org: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/117/report_display.asp

Fox, S. (2001, September 9). Wired Seniors: A fervent few, inspired by family ties. Retrieved August 27, 2007, from PewInternet.org: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/40/report_display.asp

Trogg, J. (n.d.). Internet Usage Among Seniors. Retrieved August 27, 2007, from SeniorMag.com: http://www.seniormag.com/compcorner/articles/iusage1201.htm