The trope of an elderly individual that’s struggling to use a smartphone or some other modern day gadget is well known and well worn, but recent research seems to indicate that it’s not quite as accurate as it used to be.
This research comes from the Pew Research Center, and it has indicated double digit percentage growth in terms of the elderly and their adoption of various forms of technology.
For example, the use of smartphones among people older than 65 increased from 13% in 2012 to 65% in 2021.
That’s exponential growth, and it’s more or less the same for people between 50 and 65 as well, 83% of whom now use a smartphone as compared to just 34% in 2012.
Smartphones aren’t the only piece of tech that old people are quickly starting to adopt. Tablet computer use also appears to be on the rise for those in the older demographics.
Tablet computer use peaked for most demographics in 2018. Since then, usage has gone down from 63% to 61% for people 18-29, 56% to 53% for 30-49 and 50% to 46% for 50-65.
However, people who are 65 and older have seen their usage increase, going from 38% to 44% in that span of time which may indicate that tablet computers are quickly becoming something that senior citizens tend to prefer using for a wide range of reasons.
Social media appears to be in dire straits at least as far as the 18-29 demographic is concerned. 84% of people in this age group say they use social media, down six points from the 90% that was reported in 2015. 35% of people 65 and older used social media in 2015, and that has actually increased to 45% and is significantly up from the measly 11% that was reported in 2010. Younger people are eschewing social media whilst older folk seem to be embracing it.
Read next: Study shows a majority of consumers find ads on almost all mediums as irrelevant
This research comes from the Pew Research Center, and it has indicated double digit percentage growth in terms of the elderly and their adoption of various forms of technology.
For example, the use of smartphones among people older than 65 increased from 13% in 2012 to 65% in 2021.
That’s exponential growth, and it’s more or less the same for people between 50 and 65 as well, 83% of whom now use a smartphone as compared to just 34% in 2012.
Smartphones aren’t the only piece of tech that old people are quickly starting to adopt. Tablet computer use also appears to be on the rise for those in the older demographics.
Tablet computer use peaked for most demographics in 2018. Since then, usage has gone down from 63% to 61% for people 18-29, 56% to 53% for 30-49 and 50% to 46% for 50-65.
However, people who are 65 and older have seen their usage increase, going from 38% to 44% in that span of time which may indicate that tablet computers are quickly becoming something that senior citizens tend to prefer using for a wide range of reasons.
Social media appears to be in dire straits at least as far as the 18-29 demographic is concerned. 84% of people in this age group say they use social media, down six points from the 90% that was reported in 2015. 35% of people 65 and older used social media in 2015, and that has actually increased to 45% and is significantly up from the measly 11% that was reported in 2010. Younger people are eschewing social media whilst older folk seem to be embracing it.
Read next: Study shows a majority of consumers find ads on almost all mediums as irrelevant