Six in Ten Seniors Now Go Online
Consumer Attitudes
April 3, 2014 -- According to the Pew Research Center, America’s seniors have historically been late adopters to the world of technology compared to the rest of the population, but their movement into digital life continues to deepen. The latest Pew study includes a unique exploration not only of technology use between Americans ages 65 or older and the rest of the population, but within the senior population as well.
TWO UNIQUE GROUPS OF SENIORS
Two different groups of older Americans emerge, finds Pew. The first group (which leans toward younger, more highly educated, or more affluent seniors) has relatively substantial technology assets, and also has a positive view toward the benefits of online platforms. The other (which tends to be older and less affluent, often with significant challenges with health or disability) is largely disconnected from the world of digital tools and services, both physically and psychologically.
SIX OUT OF 10 SENIORS ARE ONLINE
Today, 59% of seniors report they go online—a six-percentage point increase in the course of a year—and 47% say they have a high-speed broadband connection at home. In addition, 77% of older adults have a cell phone, up from 69% in April 2012.
DESPITE GAINS, SENIORS LAG
Despite these gains, seniors continue to lag behind younger Americans when it comes to tech adoption —41% do not use the internet at all, 53% do not have broadband access at home, and 23% do not use cell phones.
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Seniors Lag In Tech Adoption |
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|
|
Tech Adoption (% of Respondents) |
|
|
Technology |
All adults |
65+ |
|
Cell phone |
91% |
77% |
|
Internet |
86 |
59 |
|
Broadband |
70 |
47 |
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Source: Pew Research Center, April 2014 |
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YOUNGER, MORE WELL-TO DO-SENIORS ARE ONLINE
Younger, higher-income, and more highly educated seniors use the internet and broadband at rates approaching—or even exceeding—the general population; internet use and broadband adoption each drop off dramatically around age 75
In addition, affluent and well-educated seniors adopt the Internet and broadband at substantially higher rates than those with lower levels of income and educational attainment:
- Among seniors with an annual household income of $75,000 or more, 90% go online and 82% have broadband at home.
- For seniors earning less than $30,000 annually, 39% go online and 25% have broadband at home.
- 87% of seniors with a college degree go online, and 76% are broadband adopters.
- Among seniors who have not attended college, 40% go online and just 27% have broadband at home.
- 68% of Americans in their early 70s go online, and 55% have broadband at home.
- By contrast, Internet adoption falls to 47% and broadband adoption falls to 34% among 75-79 year olds.
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Internet And Broadband Use |
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Age |
Go online |
Broadband at Home |
|
65-69 |
74% |
65% |
|
70-74 |
68 |
55 |
|
75-79 |
47 |
34 |
|
80+ |
37 |
21 |
|
Source: Pew Research Center, April 2014 |
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Among older adults who use the internet, 71% go online every day or almost every day, and an additional 11% go online three to five times per week.
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Daily Online Use by Age |
||||
|
|
18-29 |
30-49 |
50-64 |
65+ |
|
Total |
94% |
92% |
87% |
82% |
|
3-5 times per week |
6 |
8 |
88 |
11 |
|
Every day or almost every day |
88 |
84 |
79 |
71 |
|
Source: Pew Research Center, April 2014 |
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DEVICE OWNERSHIP
- Device ownership among older adults differs from the population as a whole, in several ways:
- More than half of all Americans now have a smartphone, but among older adults, adoption levels sit at just 18%. Additionally, smartphone ownership among older adults has risen only modestly in recent years, from 11% in April 2011.
- Among the general public, smartphones are much more common than either tablet computers or e-book readers. But with seniors, tablets, e-book readers, and smartphones are each owned by an identical 18%. In fact, the proportion of older adults who own either a tablet or an e-book reader is actually larger than the proportion owning a smartphone. Some 27% of seniors own a tablet, an e-book reader, or both, while 18% own a smartphone.
- Today 46% of online seniors (representing 27% of the total older adult population) use social networking sites such as Facebook.
- Some 81% of older adults who use social networking sites say that they socialize with others (either in person, online, or over the telephone) on a daily or near-daily basis. Among older adults who go online but do not use social networking sites, that figure is 71%; and for those who are not online at all, it is 63%.
About: Telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 6,224 people ages 16 and older living in the United States. Interviews were conducted via landline (nLL=3,122) and cell phone (nC=3,102, including 1,588 without a landline phone). The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. The interviews were administered in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from July 18 to September 30, 2013. Statistical results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for results based on the complete set of weighted data is ±1.4 percentage points. Results based on the 5,320 internet users have a margin of sampling error of ±1.5 percentage points.
Source: Pew Research Internet Project, Older Adults and Technology Use, April 3, 2014.
