Seniors and Technology Use

“[Technology] adoption is increasing, but many seniors remain isolated from digital life,” according to a 2014 Pew Research Center Study of just over 6,000 adults age 18 or older on their use of technology.

Among the study’s major findings:

1. 59% of seniors (age 65 and older) report they go online—a 6% increase in the course of a year. In addition, 77% have a cell phone, up from 69% over the same period. This means 41% of seniors still do not use the internet and 23% do not have cell phones.
2. Rate of internet use by younger, higher-income, and more highly educated seniors approaches—or even exceeds—use by the general population; internet use drop off dramatically around age 75.
3. Older adults face several difficulties to adopting new technology, including physical challenges, skeptical attitudes about the benefits, and learning difficulties.
4. Once seniors start going online, it often becomes an integral part of their lives.