Older Internet Users Feel Web Advertising and Content Not Relevant
Older Internet Users Feel Web Advertising and Content Not Relevant
A recent BurstMedia survey of more than 13,000 web users 18 years and older found that online content providers are not meeting the needs of all age segments. A majority of Internet users 45 years and older believe online content is focused on younger age segments.
Overall, 52.0% of respondents believe Internet content is primarily focused toward people their own age. Not surprisingly, says the study, younger respondents are most likely to say online content is focused on people their age. This is particularly true for the 18-24 year and 25-34 year segments. Additionally, 55.7% of respondents 35-44 years perceive online content as focused toward their age segment. Few respondents 55 years and older say Internet content is primarily focused on people their age.
| Respondents Who Believe Web Content is Focused Towards People their Own Age (% of respondents) | |
| Age | % of Respondents |
| 18-24 | 76.0% |
| 25-34 | 73.9 |
| 35-44 | 55.7 |
| 45-54 | 35.4 |
| 55-64 | 22.9 |
| 65+ | 12.0 |
| Source: BurstMedia, February 2008 | |
Similar to the content findings, 75.9% of respondents 18-34 years say websites are designed for people their age. Among respondents 35-45 year this perception slips to 55.2%.
- Only 36.9% of respondents 45-54 years believe websites are designed for people their age
- 19.9% of respondents 55 years and older say websites are designed for people their age.
Overall, only 38.6% of respondents believe online advertising is focused on people their age. It is only among respondents 18-24 and 25-34 years that a majority believes online advertising is focused on their age groups, 56.6% and 56.5% respectively.
Among respondents 35 years and older the prevailing perception is that online advertising is focused on younger age segments.
- 43.8% of respondents 35-44 years, say online advertising is focused on people their ages
- 52.9% say online advertising is focused on people younger
- 72.5% of respondents 45-54 years say online advertising is focused on people younger than they are
- 83.2% of respondents 55 years and older feel the focus is on younger people
Overall, three out of five of respondents are visiting more websites in a typical week than they were one year ago. An expanded catalogue of sites visited is not only a phenomenon of the young, but is found among all age segments. In fact, 62.8% of respondents 55 years and older say they are visiting more sites today in a typical week of web surfing than they were one year ago.
| Number of Sites Visited During Typical Week Compared to One Year Ago (% of Respondents) | |
| Sites Visited | % of Respondents |
| Many more | 33.8% |
| A few more | 25.8 |
| About the same | 26.2 |
| Fewer | 7.2 |
| Not sure | 7.0 |
| Source: BurstMedia, February 2008 | |
Local/national news is the most popular content consumed online with half (48.9%) of respondents regularly seeking it out. There are differences in the types of content consumed by age segments. Among respondents 18-34 years, entertainment information (44.7%) is the most regularly sought online content, followed by:
- Local/national news (40.1%)
- Online games (38.1%)
- Shopping/product information (36.1%)
- Information for work (35.0%)
- Online communities such as social networks, forums and blogs (31.4%)
Local/national news (54.2%) is the most popular online content for respondents 35-54 years. Other types of online content sought by this age group include:
- Shopping/product information (44.8%)
- Information for work (42.7%)
- Health information (37.1%)
- Entertainment information (37.0%)
- Travel information (33.7%)
Local/national news is by far the most popular online content for respondents 55 years and older - with over one-half (55.9%) of this segment saying they regularly seek it out online. Other types of content sought include:
- Shopping/product information (44.0%)
- Health information (42.5%)
- International news (38.9%)
- Travel information (38.2%)
- Food information/recipes (34.1%)
Two-thirds (67.7%) of respondents say their daily routine would be disrupted if their Internet access was taken away and not available for one week (42.9% say "significantly"). This survey findings are consistent among all age segments, with the oldest segment looking very much like the youngest segment
For more information, please visit Burst Media here.
JACK LOECHNER
Center for Media Research
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