According to the NielsenWire Online, while people 65 and older still make up less than 10% of the active Internet universe, in the last five years their number has increased by more than 55 percent,
from 11.3 million active users in November 2004 to 17.5 million in November 2009. Among people 65+, the increase of women online in the last five years has outpaced the growth of men by 6 percentage
points.
Not only are more people 65 and older heading online, but they are also spending more time on the Web. Time spent on the Internet by seniors increased 11% in the last five years, from
approximately 52 hours per month in November 2004 to just over 58 hours in 2009.
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Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media, Nielsen's online division, notes that "The
over 65 crowd represents about 13% of the total population and... they're engaged in many of the same activities that dominate other age segments - e-mail, sharing photos, social networking,
checking out the latest news and weather... (in addition) a good percentage of them are spending time with age-appropriate pursuits such as leisure travel, personal health care and financial
concerns."
88.6% of seniors, check personal e-mail as the No. 1 online activity performed in the last 30 days. Viewing or printing online maps and checking the weather online were
the second and third most popular online activities.
Top 10 Online Activities of
People 65+ (U.S., Performed in the Last 30 Days) |
Rank | Online Activity | Audience Composition (%) |
1 | Personal E-mail | 88.6% |
2 | Viewed or Printed Maps Online | 68.6 |
3 | Checked Weather Online | 60.1 |
4 | Paid/Viewed Bills Online | 51.2 |
5 | View/Posted Photos Online | 50.1 |
6 | Read General/Political News | 49.2 |
7 | Checked Personal Health Care Info | 47.3 |
8 | Planned Leisure Travel Trip Online | 39 |
9 | Searched Recipes/Meal Planning Suggestions | 38.4 |
10 | Read Business/Finance News | 37.8 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, December 2009 |
The No. 1 online destination for people over 65 in November 2009 was Google Search, with
10.3 million unique visitors. Windows Media Player and Facebook were No. 2 and No. 3. Interestingly, Facebook, which came in at No. 3, ranked No. 45 just a year ago among sites visited by senior
citizens.
Overall, the number of unique visitors who are 65 or older on social networking and blog sites has increased 53% in the last two years alone. 8.2% of all social network and blog
visitors are over 65, just 0.1 percentage points less than the number of teenagers who frequent these sites.
Top 10 Online Destinations Visited by People 65+ in November 2009 (U.S., Home and Work) |
Rank
| Site | Unique Audience (000) | Unique Audience Composition (%) |
1 | Google Search | 10,253 | 7.7% |
2 | Windows
Media Player | 8,241 | 10.9 |
3 | Facebook | 7,946 | 7.2 |
4 | YouTube | 7,668 | 8.4 |
5 | Amazon | 5,679 | 9.3 |
6 | Yahoo! Mail | 5,638 | 7.8 |
7 | Yahoo! Search | 5,583 | 8.7 |
8 | Yahoo! Homepage | 5,383 | 6.8 |
9 | Bing Web | 4,510
| 10.1 |
10 | Google Maps | 4,397 | 8.4 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, December 2009 |
For additional information from Nielsen,
pleas visit them here.