Seniors Online: Useful Statistics

Here’s a shout-out to Rick Christ at NPAdvisors for compiling these useful stats about seniors and their online habits. To read the full post (and sign up for this free, on-point newsletter) click here.

* 65 percent of those 50 to 64 years old and 32 percent of those 65+ use the Internet. Only 22 percent of the 65+ crowd was online in 2004, and only 15 percent in 2000. (Pew Internet, Feb-March 2007)

* Of those 65 years and older, 34 percent of men and only 21 percent of women are online. This is the only age group where men outpace women online. (Pew Internet, 2005)

* There are 17 million Internet users aged 62+. They spend an average of 44 minutes per day online. Those online are better educated, have higher incomes, and are much more likely to be married and working. They also spend 70 percent more each month than those offline. Of those online, 59 percent use search, 43 percent gather news online, 38 percent research health information and 23 percent pay bills online. (Focalyst, April 2008)

* Half of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64, and 19 percent of those 65 and older, have broadband at home. (Pew Internet, April 2008)

What do all these statistics mean?

According to NPAdvisors, “While seniors don’t use the Internet as much as you or I, they use it more than your boss probably thinks they do. If you think that baby boomers, 66 percent of whom are online now, are going to give up their Internet as they turn 65, think again.”