Older adults are slowly but steadily becoming adopters of newer technologies and using the internet on a daily basis. The infographic below reports that currently, 71% of them go online every day.
The main reason why seniors use the world wide web is that it provides easy access to information on many topics, such as health and political issues. Additionally, they believe it’s a trusted source of news and information in general, as well as a great place for communication with loved ones.
To access the internet on the go, older adults tend to use mobile devices with larger screens, such as tablets and e-readers. Bigger screens allow them to better view content, and they’re easier to hold because of their size. Smartphones are also used, but they seem to have a lower usage percentage among most older adults, apart from the seniors with higher incomes and education.
However, there are certain activities that the older generation, in general, finds simpler and quicker to do on smartphones, like accessing social media networks and checking emails. In fact, 62% of them primarily use smartphones to check emails.
The everyday usage rates of certain social media sites within this demographic are even better than those in Millenials. For instance, 61% of adults between the ages of 50 and 59 use Facebook. Other social media platforms trail behind by quite a lot, but there are senior users for just about platform out there.
Even though seniors don’t use desktops computers like they used to do in the past, they still provide the highest conversion rates when it comes to online shopping. More precisely, the desktop conversion rate among seniors aged 65 and above is 72%, compared to the 10% smartphone conversion rate.
More so, since many spend most of their time at home, home broadband is quite popular, especially amongst those between 65 and 74 years who don’t suffer from any disabilities.
To find out more about how the elderly use the internet and other technology, check out the infographic below.
Infographic URL: https://medalerthelp.org/elderly-the-world-wide-web-infographic/