Main Findings

Seniors and internet adoptionAmerica's seniors accept historically been late adopters to the globe of technology compared to their younger compatriots, simply their movement into digital life continues to deepen, according to newly released information from the Pew Research Center. In this report, we take advantage of a particularly big survey to conduct a unique exploration non only of technology use betwixt Americans ages 65 or older and the rest of the population, but within the senior population every bit well.

Two different groups of older Americans emerge. The outset group (which leans toward younger, more than highly educated, or more flush 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 meaning challenges with health or disability) is largely disconnected from the world of digital tools and services, both physically and psychologically.

Every bit the net plays an increasingly central role in connecting Americans of all ages to news and data, government services, health resources, and opportunities for social support, these divisions are noteworthy—particularly for the many organizations and private caregivers who serve the older adult population. Amidst the key findings of this research:

Six in ten seniors now go online, and simply under half are broadband adopters

Technology adoption among older adultsIn April 2012 the Pew Inquiry Center found for the first time that more than half of older adults (divers as those ages 65 or older) were internet users. Today, 59% of seniors report they get online—a half-dozen-percentage bespeak increase in the grade of a year—and 47% say they have a high-speed broadband connection at home. In addition, 77% of older adults take a cell telephone, up from 69% in April 2012.

But despite these gains, seniors continue to lag behind younger Americans when it comes to tech adoption. And many seniors remain largely unattached from online and mobile life—41% practise non use the internet at all, 53% do non take broadband access at home, and 23% practice not use jail cell phones.

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 driblet off dramatically around age 75

Among seniors, internet and broadband use drop off around age 75Seniors, like whatsoever other demographic group, are not monolithic, and there are important distinctions in their tech adoption patterns, first with age itself. Internet utilize and broadband adoption amid seniors each fall off notably starting at approximately age 75. Some 68% of Americans in their early 70s go online, and 55% have broadband at domicile. By contrast, cyberspace adoption falls to 47% and broadband adoption falls to 34% among 75-79 year olds.

In improver, affluent and well-educated seniors adopt the internet and broadband at substantially college rates than those with lower levels of income and educational attainment:

  • Amid seniors with an annual household income of $75,000 or more, 90% get online and 82% have broadband at home. For seniors earning less than $30,000 annually, 39% go online and 25% take broadband at home.
  • Fully 87% of seniors with a higher degree go online, and 76% are broadband adopters. Among seniors who have not attended college, twoscore% become online and merely 27% accept broadband at home.

Older adults face a number of hurdles to adopting new technologies

Older adults confront several unique barriers and challenges when information technology comes to adopting new technologies. These include:

Physical challenges to using technology: Many seniors have physical weather condition or health issues that make it difficult to utilize new technologies. Around 2 in five seniors indicate that they have a "concrete or wellness condition that makes reading difficult or challenging" or a "disability, handicap, or chronic disease that prevents them from fully participating in many common daily activities". This grouping is significantly less likely than seniors who do not face up these physical challenges to get online (49% vs. 66%), to have broadband at home (38% vs. 53%), and to own almost major digital devices.

Skeptical attitudes well-nigh the benefits of technology: Older adults who do not currently use the internet are divided on the question of whether that lack of access hurts them or not. One-half of these not-users (49%) hold with the statement that "people defective internet access are at a real disadvantage because of all the information they might be missing," with 25% agreeing strongly. Merely 35% of these older non-internet users disagree that they are missing out on of import information—and 18% of them strongly disagree.

Difficulties learning to apply new technologies: A pregnant majority of older adults say they demand assistance when it comes to using new digital devices. Simply 18% would feel comfy learning to utilise a new technology device such as a smartphone or tablet on their own, while 77% indicate they would need someone to assistance walk them through the process. And among seniors who get online merely do non currently apply social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter, 56% would need assistance if they wanted to use these sites to connect with friends or family members.

Once seniors bring together the online globe, digital applied science often becomes an integral part of their daily lives

A majority of older internet users go online on a daily basisDespite some of these unique challenges facing the older developed population when it comes to technology, most seniors who become net users make visiting the digital world a regular occurrence. Among older adults who use the internet, 71% get online every day or near every day, and an additional 11% become online three to five times per week.

These older internet users also have strongly positive attitudes near the benefits of online information in their personal lives. Fully 79% of older adults who employ the internet concord with the argument that "people without internet admission are at a existent disadvantage considering of all the information they might be missing," while 94% agree with the argument that "the internet makes it much easier to detect information today than in the past."

Seniors differ from the general population in their device ownership habits

Seniors are more likely to own a tablet or e-book reader than smartphoneDevice buying among older adults differs notably from the population as a whole in several specific ways:

Few older adults are smartphone owners: More than one-half of all Americans now have a smartphone, but among older adults, adoption levels sit at only 18%. Additionally, smartphone ownership amidst older adults has risen but modestly in recent years, from eleven% in April 2011. A meaning majority of older adults (77%) do accept a cell phone of some kind, simply mostly these tend to be more than basic devices.

Amongst older adults, tablets and due east-book readers are as popular as smartphones: Amidst the general public, smartphones are much more common than either tablet computers or e-book readers, such equally Kindles or Nooks. But tablets, e-volume readers, and smartphones are each owned by an identical 18% of older adults. 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% ain a smartphone.

27% of older adults use social networking sites such every bit Facebook, but these users socialize more frequently with others compared with non-SNS users

One-quarter of seniors use online social networksToday 46% of online seniors (representing 27% of the full older developed population) use social networking sites such as Facebook, and these social network adopters have more persistent social connections with the people they care about.

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 nearly-daily basis. Amid older adults who go online but exercise not utilize social networking sites, that effigy is 71%; and for those who are non online at all, information technology is 63%.