If the target market for your legal services includes older Americans – those 65+ -- you will be interested in a new study out from Pew Internet Research on Older Adults and Technology Use that was released late last week.
Today, nearly 60% of Americans over the age of 65 go online, a six percent increase over one year ago. Not surprisingly, older Americans continue to lag behind younger Americans when it comes to embracing technology:
However, the fact is that they are embracing it – 71% of older Internet users say they go online every day and 27% participate on social media networks.
The study found that older Americans differ from the general population in terms of the devices they own. While a majority of younger American adults own smartphones, for those 65+, tablets and e-book readers surpass smartphone ownership.
When looking at the group of older Americans who use the Internet, certain demographic factors for this population stand out:
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74% of those aged 65-69 go online
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90% of online seniors have an annual household income of $75,000 or higher
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87% of online seniors have a college degree
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More senior men than women are online (55% vs. 45%)
The research revealed that once seniors are online, the Internet quickly becomes a part of their daily lives. Like other Americans, the most frequent use of the Internet is for email – which makes an e-newsletter an attractive tool for attorneys seeking to market to this older, richer and more educated demographic.