Have Our Grandparents Caught The Internet Bug?

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The world wide web is for everybody and older people are beginning to acknowledge this. No more do they exhibit anti-futuristic sentiments against the internet and other boons of this digital age. Urged by an eagerness to learn, they are accessing the web to enjoy all it can offer. Find below interesting statistics about the usage of the internet by senior citizens.

What do they use it for?

According to the infographic created by MedAlertHelp, 70% of senior citizens go online every day and 82% of them use search engines to gather information on topics of interest.

The 75% of the same age group use the internet to keep in touch with friends and family. A majority of them are interested in social media, with 55% of them maintaining social media accounts or following groups on social networks. Additionally, 54% are now fond of entertaining themselves on the internet with videos and games.

The rate of internet usage among people aged 50-64 is 21% higher than in older age groups. Also, more of them use smartphones. Notably, 66% of 65-69-year-olds subscribe to home broadband services to stay connected to the web, with a descending rate of broadband subscription among older users.

Physical and health challenges?

Senior citizens (about 53% of them) have been shown to educate themselves online about medical issues and healthcare, probably to successfully manage any old age maladies they may suffer from. Physical and health challenges haven’t prevented them from joining the digital trend.

Reports show that old people with disabilities access the web too; 55% of them go online, 36% are connected to home broadband services, 32% own a smartphone, and 21% own tablet computers.

Surveys have revealed that our grandparents are becoming quite tech savvy. The 75% of them surf the web to get information, check weather reports, political updates, read the news, entertain themselves, and so on.

Device Usage

90% of them own any cell phone, with over half using smartphones. 61% are connected to home broadband services and 41% have used social media at least once. 32% own computer tablets. With their electronic devices, they send and read emails, engage in instant messaging, carry out online banking, shop online, book travels, participate in auctions, take online classes and much more.

However, there are still a sizeable number of older people that have never used the internet or stopped its usage, due to factors like health conditions, personal beliefs, the fear of being cyberbullied, vulnerability to cyber crimes, scam, and other negatives that plague the web today.