Older Adults and Internet Use: (Some of) What we know

Mary Madden, Senior Researcher

Pew Research Center

October 21, 2013

University of Michigan

About Pew Internet

• Part of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan “fact tank” in Washington, DC

• Studying how people use digital technologies since 1999.

• Does not promote specific technologies or make policy recommendations

• Research is primarily based on nationally representative surveys of U.S. adults

1 Internet Use Among Older Adults

2 Broadband + Smartphone Ownership

3 Social Media Use

4 Health Info Seeking

5 An Invitation

Part One: Internet Use Among Older Adults

Older Adults + Internet Use: 2013

85% of all adults are online.

Among 65+, 56% are online.

70% of adults have broadband at home.

Among 65+, 43% have broadband.

Increasing numbers of all adults are using mobile phones to go online.

Offline adults by age % in each group who do not use the internet or email

% who do not

go online

All Americans ages 18+ (n=2,252) 15%

Age

a 18-29 (n=404) 2

b 30-49 (n=577) 8a

c 50-64 (n=641) 17ab

d 65+ (n=570) 44abc

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Spring Tracking Survey, April 17 – May 19, 2013. N=2,252 adults ages 18+. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for results based on all adults is +/- 2.3 percentage points.

Among adults ages 77+

62% are offline

What is the main reason you don’t use the internet or email?

47%

11%

15% 15%

35%

16%

12%

18%

48%

21%18%

6%

34%

19%

32%

7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Relevance Price Usability Avail./Access

2007

2009

2010

2013

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Surveys. Data for 2013 from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Spring Tracking Survey, April 17 – May 19, 2013. N=2,252 adults ages 18+. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones.

Other barriers for 65+

• Assistance is needed: just 13% of non-internet users ages 65+ said they would know enough to go online without help from someone else.

• But few are interested enough to seek it: Just 5% of offline adults in this age group say they would like to start using the internet or email.

• Many are making due with secondary use: 44% of non-internet users ages 65+ have asked a friend or family member to look something up or complete a task on the internet for them.

Part Two: Broadband + Smartphone

Ownership

Home broadband demographics 2013 % in each group who have high-speed broadband at home

% with home broadband

All Americans ages 18+ (n=2,252) 70%

Age

a 18-29 (n=404) 80cd

b 30-49 (n=577) 78cd

c 50-64 (n=641) 69d

d 65+ (n=570) 43

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Spring Tracking Survey, April 17 – May 19, 2013. N=2,252 adults ages 18+. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for results based on all adults is +/- 2.3 percentage points.

Smartphone ownership over time

% of all U.S. adults who own…

Smartphone ownership, by age % within each group who own a smartphone

Own a smartphone

All adults (n=2,252) 56%

Age

a 18-24 (n=243) 79cdef

b 25-34 (n=284) 81cdef

c 35-44 (n=292) 69def

d 45-54 (n=377) 55ef

e 55-64 (n=426) 39f

f 65+ (n=570) 18

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, April 17-May 19, 2013 Tracking Survey. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. Margin of error is +/-2.3 percentage points based on all adults (n=2,252).

Part Three: Social Media Use

How many adults use social media?

• 72% of online adults use a social networking site, representing more than half of the entire adult population in the U.S.

• Young people are the heaviest users of social networking sites (SNS).

• Facebook is still the dominant platform, but users are increasingly diversifying their social media portfolios.

SNS use by age group, 2005-2013

% of internet users in each age group who use social networking sites

Twitter use by age group, over time % of adult internet users in each age group who use Twitter

Motivations for social networking use

• For adults ages 50+ staying in touch with family is the #1 reason they use SNS

• For adults under age 50, staying in touch with friends is more important

Part Four: Health Info Seeking

Chronic Conditions vs. Health Info Seeking % of all adults, by age

20

34

60

75 72

67 65

30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+

Living with 1+ chronic condition

Looks online for health info

All Adults

N=3,014

Age

18-29

N=478

30-49

N=833

50-64

N=814

65+

N=830

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Specific disease or medical problem 45 50d 52cd 45d 23

Certain medical treatment or procedure 35 38d 43cd 34d 19

Health insurance, including private insurance,

Medicare or Medicaid 20 24cd 25cd 18d 10

Pregnancy and childbirth 10 24cde 12de 1 0

Food safety or recalls 16 17d 22de 14d 7

Drug safety or recalls 13 14d 17d 13d 4

Medical test results 12 12d 14d 14d 5

How to lose weight or control your weight 22 31de 28de 16d 6

How to reduce health care costs 9 10d 12d 9d 3

Caring for an aging relative or friend 12 12d 15d 11d 4

Drug you saw advertised 13 15d 14d 14d 6

Any other health issue 17 17d 21d 17d 8

Health Topics, by Age % of all adults who have ever looked online for information about various health topics, by age

Consulting reviews and rankings online, by age % of internet users within each age group who consulted online reviews or rankings for the following subjects

Source: Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, August 7-September 6, 2012 Survey. N=3,014 adults and the margin of error is +/- 2.6 percentage points for internet users.

Caregivers and “Information Triage”

Four in ten adults in the U.S. are caring for an adult or child with significant health issues, up from 30% in 2010.

• 59% of caregivers with internet access say that online resources have been helpful to their ability to provide care and support for the person in their care.

• 52% of caregivers with internet access say that online resources have been helpful to their ability to cope with the stress of being a caregiver.

Part Five: An Invitation

www.pewinternet.org

data

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Thank you!

Email: mmadden@pewinternet.org

Twitter: mary_madden

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