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:

• 74% of those aged 65-69 go online

• 90% of online seniors have an annual household income of $75,000 or higher

• 87% of online seniors have a college degree

• 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.