• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 31, 2005

Recently, Emarketer assembled a series of independent study data revealing the importance of the Internet to seniors. They report that, “as a follow up to its ‘Older Americans and the Internet’ study done last year, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that the percentage of older Americans who go online is steadily increasing.”

In 2000, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that only 15% of Americans 65 or older reported access to the Internet. Last year that number had risen to 22%. And in a phone survey conducted in January of this year, 26% of Americans age 65 and over reported having Internet access.

And, the report notes that in a study released early this year, the Kaiser Family Foundation compared activities of 65+ seniors with the group of seniors right behind them, and found that both groups were active online.

Pew researchers find that wired seniors are as keen as younger users to take advantage of the major activities that define online life — such as e-mail and the use of search engines to answer a specific question. In addition, they are as likely as younger users to go online on a typical day.

You can find out more here at eMarketer.