Baby Boomers and seniors now spend more time online than watching television, according to a report by Ipsos and Google.
On average, seniors and Boomers (defined in the report as those age 45 or older) spend 19 hours a week online, but they spend 16 hours watching television. Their online usage also far outpaces time spent listening to the radio and reading newspapers/magazines.
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Below, additional key findings from the report, Reaching Today's Boomers and Seniors Online, which was based on an online survey of US adults.
Information-Gathering
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- The Internet is the top source for gathering information on topics of interest for Baby Boomers and seniors, outpacing television and print media by a substantial margin.
- News and weather is the most popular type of information accessed by Boomers and seniors online (66% accessed in the past month), followed by shopping (57%), coupons/discounts/daily deals (45%), food information (44%), and games (43%).
Online Video
- 54% of Boomers/seniors watch online video, compared with 65% of the general population.
- YouTube is the most popular video site (used by 82% of Boomers/seniors), followed by Facebook (43%), Netflix (23%), and Hulu (23%).
- The top motivations for viewing online videos include being entertained (63% of respondents), watching funny videos (51%), relaxing (44%), and staying up to date with the latest news (40%).
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Social Networks
- Facebook as the most used social network, with membership on par with that of the general population.
- Common activities seniors and Boomers engage in on social networks include following groups/organizations (55%), posting/watching videos (40%), supporting causes (26%), and joining groups (23%).
- Social networking sites are used by the majority of Boomers (71%) and seniors (59%) daily.
Mobile
- Mobile usage is still developing among Boomers and seniors: 29% use a smartphone regularly (compared with 48% of the general population), and 19% regularly use a tablet (compared with 25% of the general population).
- Those who use mobile devices engage in a variety of activities, including looking for information, making purchases, and visiting websites of interest.
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About the research: The report was based on a 15-minute online survey of 6,100 US respondents (5,100 Boomers/seniors age 45+ and a general population control cell of 1,000 people) conducted in March 2013.
COMMENTARY: Finally the Boomers are catching up with everybody else by relying on the Internet as a source of information and news. They also spend more time online while at home than watching TV. And Baby Boomers are also adopting mobile devices like tablets. I knew many of them were using ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle, but it now looks like they are adopting the latest tablets as well.
Courtesy of an article dated July 18, 2013 appearing in MarketingProfs
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