The good kind of users!
The internet is becoming more and more accessible. People from the older generations are making use of the internet more and more. My wife's grandparents are a testament to this. Her grandmother that lives in Illinois has learned to email. She seems to like emailing her grandkids more than writing letters because her grandkids are more likely to write back when she emails. All her grandkids are spread out across the country so emailing is a great way for her to keep in touch.
Her other grandparents that live in Ohio. They also go online but do not email that much. They just go online here and there but do not use it religiously. The interesting thing is that they hold a unique distinction when it comes to the internet, which is that they both can be found on the internet if you search for their names. Her grandmother composed music all her life, her name shows up on a few sites.
Her grandfather has an interesting tie-in to President John F Kennedy. At the time of Kennedy's assassination, Harry Meuser was the Air Force Marching Bands conductor. After the president was murdered, Harry was asked to choose the music for the funeral procession. He and his band also participated in the funeral.
Here's a link http://www.jvmusic.net/11thWingKennedyFuneral.html
It's interesting that I happen to know three people over the age of 65 that use the internet. Amanda Lenhart's Pew study claims that only 4% of people over the age of 65 use the internet. Maybe my wife's grandparents were more likely to go online since they are not on a fixed income as many seniors are.
I was also surprised to find (in Amanda Lenhart's Pew study) that a mere 18% of Americans in the 50 to 64 age bracket use the internet. Living in the Minneapolis, Saint Paul area I almost find that hard to believe. Lots of people in that age group used computers (online) at my former workplace. It seems that most employed people have to use computers nowadays. Then again, there are those that are less fortunate than I.
Comments
I think the survey may have had a few glitches. Andrew mentioned in his post that the survey only contacted people through phone surveys. He was right that there are many people without phone service that couldn't participate in the survey and that would skew the usage even lower. The demographic question is propable correct though. The segment of the population that is growing the fastest isn't hispanic or asian. It is the baby boomers! 65+ it becoming one of the largest demographic segments. Maybe the 4% is an accurate percentage given the large universe in that demo.
Good post
Mike
Posted by: md2506 | March 1, 2007 06:00 PM
Wow...that's really interesting. That connection is cool. I think it is awesome that your grandparents have harnessed the Internet and the potential that it has. I think that it is important that grandparents that have grandkids that live far away learn the Internet. My grandmother hasn't had to because she lives so close to all of hers (plus she has like 31). I think it should be more important to focus on seniors learning the Internet rather than teaching all adults to use it because I think seniors will get the most out of it.
Posted by: Mark Mahan | March 4, 2007 07:11 PM
That's true that more and more people are using the internet more everyday. My aunt and uncle really never used the interent until about 2 years ago, now they use it everyday. And it is an easy way to stay in touch.
I think that 18% of Americans 50-65 years old that use the internet could be farely accurate if you look at it nationally. However I think that number can change literally in a few months time.
Posted by: Harpal (Paul) Thind | March 4, 2007 11:05 PM
I am generally impressed too by the ability of seniors to use Internet. Maybe we just under-estimate their capacities. I communicate with my grand mother through Internet during my year studying here and she really impresses me sending me photos, links and all different use of Internet.
The connexion with the Kennedys is very nice.
Posted by: Pierre | March 7, 2007 12:25 AM