Senior Citizens and the Internet-a Growing Love Affair

"The internet makes my life much easier by keeping me easily in touch with people at their convenience." -John, 72

A love affair has been growing in a place where incompatibility was previously thought to exist-between the internet and senior citizens.

According to a study published in 2008, senior citizens are one of the fastest growing segments of internet users in the world; 68 percent of individuals aged 55-59 , 55 percent aged 60-64, 57 percent aged 65-69, 27 percent aged 70-75, and 17 percent aged 76 and older regularly utilize the internet in some fashion. Many senior citizens appreciated the wealth of medical knowledge available at just the stroke of a key or a click of the mouse, as well as the ability to easily connect with friends and relatives. Additionally, senior citizens polled in the aforementioned survey are technologically savvy, many utilizing the internet in their current job functions.

As "baby boomers" continue to age, websites catering to "all things senior" will undoubtedly begin to dominate the internet landscape. As the sophistication of older internet users grows, it will be interesting to see what enterprising company (or perhaps individual) will emerge as the gold medal winner in the senior citizen internet olympics!

Reference:

McMillan, Sally J.1 sjmcmill@utk.eduAvery, Elizabeth Johnson1 ejavery@utk.eduMacias, Wendy2 wmacias@grady.uga.edu
Source:
Information, Communication & Society; Oct2008, Vol. 11 Issue 5, p675-697, 23p