The Internet Is Getting Gray
"... the largest jump in adoption of Internet usage was by users ages 70 and older."
Older users are getting more comfortable with and active on the Internet. What this amounts to is an expansion of the marketplace for businesses trying to reach that older segment of the population. The web is becoming a more and more useful tool for reaching older audiences.
In the first table in this article, usage by age sector is displayed. Most sectors increased their participation rate from 2005 to 2008. Only the age group 65-69 showed a decrease in participation, and that was by 1%. This is probably some kind of anomaly resulting from demographic factors, but a very minor change in any event.
The next table breaks down Internet usage by age groups. The surprising fact to me in this table was that the age groups that spend the most time on the web are 35-49, 55+, and 65+, in that order. What surprised me was that the younger segments of the audience did not dominate the usage. Now this is due largely to the numbers of users in each age segment, but the overall image of the user base seemed different to me from what I might have assumed. To me, that points up the value of looking at these kinds of numbers. My perception of the audience on the web changed somewhat.
The last table broke down Internet usage by activities for two age groups, 64-72 and 73+. In both groups, email and search were the top activities. The interesting observation I took away from this table was that the younger age group spent much more time looking at government sites, banking, and viewing religious sites than the older group. What this means to me as a marketer requires a little more thinking than I have had time to devote to it now, but it seems to point to the kinds of issues that the different age groups are dealing with. The younger group, it would seem, is facing issues of adjusting to questions of retirement and changing lifestyle, while the older group had more likely resolved lots of those issues. For a business offering solutions to changes in lifestyle, this could be important information.
As always, the important issue is for marketers to understand their target audience so they can find the best way to reach that audience effectively.
Click on the title at the top to see the article.
Older users are getting more comfortable with and active on the Internet. What this amounts to is an expansion of the marketplace for businesses trying to reach that older segment of the population. The web is becoming a more and more useful tool for reaching older audiences.
In the first table in this article, usage by age sector is displayed. Most sectors increased their participation rate from 2005 to 2008. Only the age group 65-69 showed a decrease in participation, and that was by 1%. This is probably some kind of anomaly resulting from demographic factors, but a very minor change in any event.
The next table breaks down Internet usage by age groups. The surprising fact to me in this table was that the age groups that spend the most time on the web are 35-49, 55+, and 65+, in that order. What surprised me was that the younger segments of the audience did not dominate the usage. Now this is due largely to the numbers of users in each age segment, but the overall image of the user base seemed different to me from what I might have assumed. To me, that points up the value of looking at these kinds of numbers. My perception of the audience on the web changed somewhat.
The last table broke down Internet usage by activities for two age groups, 64-72 and 73+. In both groups, email and search were the top activities. The interesting observation I took away from this table was that the younger age group spent much more time looking at government sites, banking, and viewing religious sites than the older group. What this means to me as a marketer requires a little more thinking than I have had time to devote to it now, but it seems to point to the kinds of issues that the different age groups are dealing with. The younger group, it would seem, is facing issues of adjusting to questions of retirement and changing lifestyle, while the older group had more likely resolved lots of those issues. For a business offering solutions to changes in lifestyle, this could be important information.
As always, the important issue is for marketers to understand their target audience so they can find the best way to reach that audience effectively.
Click on the title at the top to see the article.
Labels: Internet marketing, search behavior, statistics
posted by RGMyers at 8:40 AM
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