Pew Internet and American Life Project has found that the percentage of older Americans who go online is steadily increasing. In 2000, they found that only 15% of Americans 65 or older reported access to the Internet. Last year that number had risen to 22%. And in a phone survey conducted in January of this year, 26% of Americans age 65 and over reported having Internet access.
Pew researchers theorise that the heightened level of 65+ online activity reflects the fact that they are new users — with a difference. New users normally adopt e-mail and information-gathering immediately, but shy away from making purchases, banking or participating in online auctions. As the population ages, however, more people who regularly used the internet at work are retiring and the over-65 set will probably have higher rates of connectivity and report higher rates of "high trust" activities.
Furthermore, the Pew study found that once seniors get online, they are just as enthusiastic as younger users. Wired seniors are as keen as younger users to take advantage of the major activities that define online life — such as e-mail and the use of search engines to answer a specific question. In addition, they are as likely as younger users to go online on a typical day.
Dick Stroud www.20plus30.com
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