More Than A Third Of Silver Surfers Now Have Broadband
More than a third of mature web users currently access the internet via a high-speed broadband connection, according to new research released today.
A study of 1,000 UK internet users carried out by web portal 50 Connect claims that the number of so-called silver surfers with a high-speed internet connection has more than doubled since May last year to a staggering 36%.
The research dismisses the traditional notion that the older generation are the last to adapt to new technologies and suggests that the over 45s are quickly catching on to the benefits of broadband, including downloading music, or booking holidays online.
Commenting on the findings, 50 Connect’s sales director, Julia Green, said: “The over-50s have more disposable income than any other age group so they are more likely to be able to afford broadband packages. The over-50s spend longer online than any other age group so the benefits of broadband are perhaps more obvious to them than they are to others.”
She added: “No one should be surprised by the survey results. One thing is for certain – this age group is not afraid of new technology. People in their fifties are more than capable of downloading music online or being their own travel agent booking tailor-made holidays online.”
Recent research carried out by OMD UK in association with the Telegraph, Peugeot and Saga suggests that advertisers may need to change they way they target older consumers after finding that people aged over fifty have as disparate and unpredictable lifestyles as younger generations.
The majority of advertisers tend to categorise older consumers by age, but earlier this year the study of more than 1,700 people across the UK revealed that this style of grouping is inaccurate and should be replaced with lifestyle, habit and attitudinal classifications (see Research Claims Over Fifties Are Young At Heart).
50 Connect: www.50connect.co.uk
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