When you think ‘senior,’ what is the first thing that comes to mind? Surely not high-end new technologies. But guess what? According to a survey performed by Euromonitor International, you’re wrong!
Most people think that senior citizens avoid internet and experiences with new technologies, but they are embracing it very well.
They use these tools to bridge the geographic gap between them and their loved ones far away and as a way to re-connect with friends from a far-off time. Studies show that the internet has become an essential portal for reducing isolation, loneliness, and other depressive symptoms.
The paper shows that this motivation propels seniors to use the internet as much as any other age group, a factor that opens up a huge potential consumer base for companies seeking to grow revenues amid a saturated consumer electronics market.
Often companies focus their propaganda on millennials, mainly losing the vast market share that involves the elderly. Seniors, in fact, have more money and are more willing to spend on products and services than the younger population.
A Pew report released in May found that about 42 percent of adults aged 65 and older report owning a smartphone. This use had increased significantly since 2013 when a survey revealed that just 18 percent of seniors owned the devices.
Alongside this surge in iPhone and Android ownership, internet use and home broadband adoption have skyrocketed, according to the report. In the study, 67 percent of seniors told researchers that they use the internet, representing a 55-percentage-point increase in the past two decades. Meanwhile, half of older Americans have broadband at home.
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