Traditional stereotypes which contrast the tech-savvy youth against the older generation are “unfounded”, according to new research from digital performance marketing company, iProspect.
The Study, ‘The Ageless Internet: From Silver Surfers to Golden Geeks’, reveals that the confidence in technology and internet usage is as high in the over 50s as it is among the 30-49 demographic, with the older group just as “digitally savvy” as younger generations.
Based on an online panel of 1,012 UK consumers aged 30+, the study found that 80% of 50-59 year olds and 88% of 60-69 year olds believe that their age is no barrier to using the internet and both groups expect to use it even more in the future – climbing as high as 92% in the over 70 age group.
By contrast, 70% of the 30-49 year olds said that age was a barrier to the internet.
The research revealed that four in ten over 50s use multiple modern devices, with 63% of over-70s spending 11-30 hours per week online, compared with 43% of 30-49 year olds.
When it comes to social media, 61% of over 50s are Facebook members, compared with 80% of 30-49 year olds. In comparison, just 18% of over 50s have a Twitter account.
The research also found that watching video online is not only a prerogative of the younger generations, with 29% of 50-59s, 25% of 60-69s and 13% of 70+ watching content via BBC iPlayer, while one in five said that they watch videos on YouTube ‘all the time’ or ‘quite often’.
One in ten of the over 70s said the same.
“We’re not surprised by the finding that video is being consumed across multiple age demographics; we’ve always known YouTube is not a service that only young age groups use,” said Hamish Nicklin, director of YouTube.
“The key is having our app pre-installed on tablets and smartphones so we’re easy to find, that’s why so many people in the over 70 category are interacting with us on tablets and through Smart TVs.
“People can sometimes be tempted to think that video streaming is limited to the youth and miss out on the targeting it can offer among older age groups, so we’re glad our experience is backed up by this research.”
