Although the number of seniors using the Internet is still low compared to that of millennials, they’ve actually taken to using the World Wide Web more often in recent years. Hristina Nikolovska from MedAlertHelp sent us an infographic in which they report that today, 70% of those aged 65 and above use it on a normal day.
According to the infographic, many of them go online to search for information on different topics of interest. The political and medical news, weather updates, and shopping details are some of their popular subjects.
In fact, the elderly are just as interested in deals and coupons as the rest of the population, with 45% of them using sites like LivingSocial.com and Shopathome.com to find daily deals. Before you check the infographic, let’s highlight some of the most interesting insights we got from it!
Seniors Love the Internet Too
Many seniors use the Internet to communicate with their loved ones. Much as the email seems to be their favorite model of communicating, other platforms like Facebook, Skype, and FaceTime are also being utilized. 91% of the people aged 60 and above send and receive emails on a daily basis, while 24% use social media platforms like Facebook to send instant messages.
They’ve even gone ahead to take online classes, do their banking online, and play games to stay mentally sharp. It’s worth noting that the seniors have also adopted the usage of different technological devices, in addition to laptops and desktops, to surf the web.
Those between 50-59 seem to be more passionate about using almost all devices on the market, from smartphones, laptops, and desktops to tablets and e-readers. However, they haven’t yet fully embraced the use of wearables and digital assistants.
Some of the older baby boomers would like to use the smartphones and tablets to access the Internet, but find it difficult to use them. Hence, marketers or family members need to teach them how to use these gadgets in order to boost the number of seniors online.
More so, their fears about online harassment and doubt about the importance of the world wide web need to be addressed.
To learn more about what the elderly are using the Internet for and how to check out the infographic below:
