{"id":97673,"date":"2001-09-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2001-09-09T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2001\/09\/09\/main-report-20\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:14:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:14:33","slug":"main-report-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2001\/09\/09\/main-report-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Main Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wired seniors \u2013 a breed apart<\/h3>\n\n

Senior citizens are among the least likely people in America to have Internet access.\u00a0 Just 15% of Americans aged 65 and older go online, compared to 51% of their closest peers, those aged 50-64, and 56% of all Americans.\u00a0 Almost half of Internet users were first given the opportunity to go online at work or school, but few Americans over age 65 were in the workforce or attending classes in the 1990s.\u00a0 And while many younger Americans are drawn to the Internet to keep in touch with friends, there is a very small peer group to urge seniors to take the plunge.\u00a0 In addition, many seniors can\u2019t afford the luxury of a computer or the monthly fees associated with Internet access. <\/p>\n\n

\"Online<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

The extraordinary four million seniors who do go online have fallen in love with email as much as any other group of Internet users, but their motivation for going online and some of their activities are unique to their age group.<\/p>\n\n

Mostly men, but the balance is shifting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Today\u2019s online senior citizen population looks like the early Internet population \u2013 about 60% are men and about 40% are women.\u00a0 Wired seniors are more likely than their offline peers to be married, highly educated, and enjoying relatively high retirement incomes.\u00a0 Seventy-four percent of wired seniors are married (or living as married) compared to 47% of all Americans over the age of 65.\u00a0 Eighteen percent of wired seniors are widowed, compared to 39% of all seniors.\u00a0 Seventy-six percent of wired seniors have at least some college education, compared to 36% of all seniors.\u00a0 One in four wired seniors lives in a household with an annual income of over $75,000, compared to just 8% of all seniors.<\/p>\n\n

Seniors with the most online experience are college-educated, wealthy men who are more likely to have been introduced to the Internet at work.\u00a0 For example, 32% of online senior men have three or more years of experience, compared to 14% of online senior women.\u00a0 At the other end of the spectrum, 25% of online senior women have had Internet access for six months or less, compared to 14% of online senior men.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

However, Americans over 65 years old, especially older women, are coming online at faster rates than other age groups.\u00a0 Eighteen percent of seniors with Internet access have come online in the past six months, compared with 14% all Internet users who have gotten access in the same period.\u00a0 More than half (55%) of all senior citizens who have gotten Internet access in the past six months are women.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Some seniors who were not introduced to the Internet at work are creative about getting trained to use Internet software programs.\u00a0 A research project related to the Blacksburg Electronic Village in western Virginia found that there was strong demand from senior citizens for computer and Internet training. Nearly a fifth of those who attended training sessions at regional library branches were 65 years of age or older.[1. Kavanaugh, Andrea (2000). The use and impact of telecommunications and information infrastructure assistance upon local public and nonprofit sectors: An assessment of community networks. Available at www.bev.net\/project\/research\/BAAProposalOnline.pdf<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n

A fervent few, logging on from home<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

While a smaller share of senior citizens has access to the Internet, on a typical day they are more likely to log on than the average American Internet user and the trend for online seniors is going up.\u00a0 In May-June 2000, 64% of wired seniors went online on a typical day.\u00a0 In November-December 2000, 69% of wired seniors went online on a typical day, compared to 56% of all Internet users.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Senior citizens resemble no other age group when it comes to where they use a computer to go online.\u00a0 Fully 81% of wired seniors only have access to the Internet from home, compared to 45% of all Internet users.\u00a0 By contrast, wired seniors\u2019 closest generational peers (Internet users in the 50-64 year-old group) are more likely to have access at work.\u00a0 Just 45% of those pre-retirement Internet users report having access only at home.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Five percent of wired seniors go online from work only, compared to 12% of all Internet users.\u00a0 And only 11% of wired seniors go online from both home and work, compared to 37% of all Internet users.\u00a0 Interestingly, those in the pre-retirement age bracket (50-64 year-olds) are actually more likely to have access at both home and work than 18-29 year-olds \u2013 40% compared to 30%.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Since very few have access elsewhere, it is not surprising that 95% of seniors who are online on a typical day are logging on from home, compared to 76% of all Internet users.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Coaxed online by relatives <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Since most senior citizens are not working or in school, it is not surprising that they are motivated to go online for more personal reasons than all other age groups.\u00a0 For them, a prime reason to go online is to connect with their children and grandchildren, not with their friends.\u00a0 Indeed, of the 84% of wired seniors who say they first got Internet access for reasons unrelated to work or school, 48% say they were encouraged to do so by family members \u2013 a higher percentage than any other age group.\u00a0 Another 45% say they first got Internet access because it was something they personally wanted to do.\u00a0 Very few wired seniors who first got online for personal reasons say that they were encouraged by friends to get access.\u00a0 By contrast, 52% of all Internet users say they were compelled to go online for personal reasons, not work or school, and friends had a greater influence than family members in urging younger Americans to try going online.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

\"Reasons<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

Like most Internet users, wired seniors value the Internet as a useful tool to stay in touch with family members.\u00a0 Wired seniors who email a significant family member, often a daughter or son, are likely to say they communicate more often with that person now that they use email.\u00a0 Nearly 3 in 5 online senior citizens (56%) say that the Internet has improved their connections with family.\u00a0 This enthusiasm for family ties is matched in the general Internet population, but younger Internet users are more impressed than online seniors with how well the Internet helps them learn new things.\u00a0 Seventy-nine percent of all Internet users say that, compared to 54% of wired seniors.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Highly engaged with life, but not yet with the Internet <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

A great majority of senior citizens engage with life by reading newspapers, watching television, and pursuing hobbies.\u00a0 For example, 57% of seniors read a newspaper on a typical day, compared to 40% of all Americans.\u00a0 While many Americans have begun to shift some of those activities online, older Americans remain entrenched in the offline world.\u00a0 Only 21% of Americans over the age of 65 say they use a computer on \u201cat least an occasional basis,\u201d compared to 59% of their closest peers (age 50-64) and 64% of all Americans.\u00a0 Seniors are the least likely group to have tapped into the Internet revolution \u2013 and those seniors who do have Internet access are less likely than any other age group to have sampled all the Web has to offer.\u00a0 They are enthusiastic about some online activities and relatively indifferent to others.\u00a0 Many wired seniors search for financial news, but few do their banking online.\u00a0 Many wired seniors play online games, but few download music (see \u201cInternet Activities\u201d table on page 9).<\/p>\n\n

Because so many seniors came online only within the past year, some observers might assume that seniors\u2019 lack of engagement with most online activities is simply due to their lack of experience.\u00a0 However, Internet users with less than one year of experience online in the general population are more likely than seniors as a whole to have tried many of the activities we research.<\/p>\n\n

Wired seniors track their email, hobbies, and finances online<\/h3>\n\n

Email is the #1 draw for seniors<\/b>.\u00a0 Email is the application that has most engaged senior citizens with the Internet.\u00a0 Ninety-three percent of wired seniors have sent or read email.\u00a0 On a typical day, wired seniors are more likely to send email than the average Internet user.\u00a0 Some 53% of all seniors with Internet access go online to check email on a typical day, compared to 48% of all Internet users.\u00a0 That figure suggests that on any given day about two million seniors are using email.\u00a0 Email is popular with every group of seniors \u2013 men, women, those with advanced educations and those with just a high school education.<\/p>\n\n

\"Equal<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

Hobbies<\/b>:\u00a0 As with the general population, the second most popular online activity among seniors is seeking out information on hobbies.\u00a0 However, the gap that pervades most activities between seniors and the general population starts here.\u00a0 Fifty-eight percent of wired seniors have searched the Web for information about their pastime, and 12% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 By comparison, 76% of all Internet users have done this, and 18% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 Interest in online hobby information is roughly equal between senior men (59%) and senior women (56%).\u00a0 Wired seniors with three or more years of online experience are more likely to seek out hobby information than the newest initiates (69% vs. 41%). \u00a0\u00a0Thirty-seven percent of wired seniors say the Internet has improved the way they pursue their hobbies, compared to 51% of all Internet users who say that.<\/b><\/p>\n\n

Money.<\/b>\u00a0 When it comes to finances, wired seniors match the general Internet population\u2019s enthusiasm for financial news and trades online.\u00a0 Forty-four percent of wired seniors have looked up stock quotes and other financial information online, compared to 44% of all Internet users.\u00a0 Twelve percent of wired seniors have traded stocks online, compared to 13% of all Internet users.\u00a0 Twenty-three percent of wired seniors say the Internet has improved the way they take care of their personal finances, compared to 27% of Internet users who agree. While seniors appear comfortable managing online portfolios, they are less comfortable dealing with their bank accounts in cyberspace.\u00a0 Only 8% of seniors have tried online banking, compared to 18% of the general Internet population. Within the senior population, as in the general population, online financial transactions are primarily the purview of men, those with incomes over $50,000, and those who have been online for over three years.<\/p>\n\n

Health.<\/b>\u00a0 Since senior citizens are more likely to suffer health problems[2.numoffset=”2″ Twenty-seven percent of senior citizens said they are in only \u201cfair\u201d or \u201cpoor\u201d health in 1996, compared to 9% of all Americans (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 Administration on Aging, \u201cA Profile of Older Americans: 2000\u201d). Available at http:\/\/research.aarp.org\/general\/profile_2000.html<\/a>] it is not surprising that many wired seniors search the Web for medical advice and health information.\u00a0 According to a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/i>, health education is one of the factors that have decreased the number of senior citizens who are chronically disabled and require nursing-home care.[3. USA Today, May 8, 2001, citing a study published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.] Indeed, wired seniors are as engaged as the general Internet population in pursuing medical advice online.\u00a0 Fifty-three percent of online seniors have sought health information online, compared to 56% of the general online population.\u00a0 On a typical day, 7% of wired seniors seek out health information, compared to 6% of the Internet population at large.\u00a0 Thirty percent of wired seniors say that the Internet has improved the way they get information about health care, compared to 36% of all Internet users who agree.\u00a0 Seeking health information is one of three activities in which online senior women outdo the men (58% vs. 51%).\u00a0 Senior women are also more likely to go online just for fun and to play games. <\/p>\n\n

\"Health<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n

Neither income level nor educational attainment makes much difference in whether or not seniors seek out health information.\u00a0 However, experience with the Internet does make a difference, one that is more sweeping for seniors than for the population at large (see table above).<\/p>\n\n

News.<\/b>\u00a0 Fifty-five percent of wired seniors have gotten news online, and 21% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 By comparison, 61% of all Internet users have followed the news online and 21% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 As is characteristic of all Internet users, this activity is more popular with senior men and seniors with more Internet experience.\u00a0 Fifty-nine percent of wired senior men have read the news online, compared to 48% of wired senior women. Sixty-two percent of wired seniors with three or more years of experience have gotten news online, compared to 46% of wired seniors who just got Internet access in the last six months.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n

Weather.<\/b>\u00a0 Fifty-three percent of wired seniors have looked for weather reports and 15% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 By comparison, 62% of all Internet users have checked the weather online and 16% do so on a typical day.\u00a0\u00a0 Wired senior men do this more than women (57% vs. 51%) and those with more experience do so more than those with less experience.\u00a0 Sixty-three percent of seniors who have been online for three or more years have checked the weather online, compared to 47% of seniors who have come online in the last six months.<\/p>\n\n

Browsing for fun.<\/b>\u00a0 Fifty-three percent of wired seniors have gone online for no particular reason, just for fun or to pass the time and 17% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 By comparison, 64% of all Internet users have browsed the Web just for fun, and 20% do so on a typical day.\u00a0 Wired senior women do this more than men (58% vs. 51%) and those with less education do so more than those with a college degree.\u00a0 Sixty-three percent of wired seniors with a high school education or less have surfed for fun, compared to 46% of wired seniors with a college degree or more.<\/p>\n\n

\"Internet<\/figure><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wired seniors \u2013 a breed apart Senior citizens are among the least likely people in America to have Internet access.\u00a0 Just 15% of Americans aged 65 and older go online, compared to 51% of their closest peers, those aged 50-64, and 56% of all Americans.\u00a0 Almost half of Internet users were first given the opportunity 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