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Tablets and smartphones owners are wealthier and younger

Connecting through glass by older adults – forward, but slowly.  The Pew numbers are out and offer confirmation that -- as consumer devices -- feature phones are nearly dead and laptops may be dying. But smart phone ownership among seniors is marginally up from the previous 13% – now 18% of the 570 surveyed adults aged 65+ and 39% of boomers aged 55-64. What’s different is the dominance of the device among younger adults – 55% of those aged 45-54 and 69% of those aged 35-44 have smart phones.  Meanwhile tablet ownership among the 65+ has progressed to that same 18%. (Uh, could those be the same folks that own smart phones?)  And tablet ownership, a newer category and less dominant than smart phones, fits an older crowd: 49% of adults aged 35-44 own one, and 38% of those aged 45-54 have them.  

Why do smart phones outpace tablet ownership among older adults? Perhaps smart phone popularity is driven by the carrier message that the purchase price is under $200. (Oh, did I forget to mention that 2-year contract for monthly tiered usage levels?) New tablets, on the other hand, are pretty pricey – well north of $200. And apparently they break a lot, hence the 'month-to-month' service offer. In addition, says Pew, education and income may be a factor – 49% of those with a college degree own tablets – and 56% of adults making more than $75,000/year. We can bet that aged 65+ tablet owners have incomes of more than $75,000/year, and – as the 2011 Link∙age Technology survey indicated -- these tech adopters are married, already owned a PC, and have a wireless network.

Let us dare to dream – prices fall, usability rises.  For an older adult today, pressure is growing to get with the mobile device program, pick up a sizable data plan and participate in the joys of too much information (TMI). The adult kids are sending around YouTube videos of themselves and their kids, Facebook updates are spewing forth unabated (not well vetted either) and then there are the joys of Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and whatever else is next and new! Why can’t older adults see the appeal of being on Facebook and Twitter, describing indigestion in the moment, where the world of their followers are falling into ditches reading these tweets -- in what we used to call 'real time'?  For those not from IT trivia land, real time meant 'update immediately,' and it was quaintly contrasted with 'batch' updates, left until later. Who knew that telling all about the restaurant we’re in this very minute is a must for 'real time'?

So those without the right device are shut out of in-the-moment madness.  Is that a bad thing? Besides price, maybe it’s just too much -- too much information from people you know, too many Facebook updates from people you’ve long-forgotten or who have forgotten that you're in their 'friend' network. Maybe resisting the appeal of marketing messages from advertisers you didn’t know existed, selling everything you might not want, trying to get you to play games to alleviate boredom you didn't know you had. Maybe it bugs you that marketers are taking advantage of your GPS location, which you had to reveal to use the navigation functions of the phone, enabling more retail messages to be pushed at you, in that very same real-time. Or if you have a smart phone, is it a bad thing to turn it off once in a while (not for me, of course, since I am addicted). But if older adults in your circle have yet to buy, turn on or configure their location, sound, storage, camera, wireless, application settings and update frequency, maybe it is just as well.

Comments

I'll bite and raise my hand. Because the younger and wealthier 1) have more disposable income which in turn allows them to 2) replace their equipment and devices and upgrade more frequently, especially when they are 3) exposed to new technology through their friends, hobbies and workplace environments. Also,4) the base monthly fees for Internet or WiFi services would be seen as more as a Must Have in a younger and a Nice To Have in an older. How'd I do?

I think your reasoning is spot on. However, I believe that tablets will gradually become ubiquitous among older people soon. Tablets are coming down significantly in price; gateway tablets like Kindles and Nooks can be purchased for under $200, and there are new devices coming shortly that should retail around $150. As these come down in price, more seniors will be exposed to them by their friends and relatives. I agree that the expense of internet access is still a barrier for many people, but as people begin to realize that more and more public spaces offer wi-fi for free (libraries, restaurants, senior centers, etc.), that will also encourage them to hop on the bandwagon. The internet has become too important a tool, certainly not solely for Facebook and social media, to not be accessible to everyone. I think tablets have so much potential to break down some of these barriers to accessibility. They're portable, less expensive than desktop and laptop computers, and their apps are easy to interface, discrete programs.

If you look at the market. Who is buying these smartphones and tablets. The younger generations are brought up to use these computers while previous generation they did not have a smartphone let a lone a PC or tablet in their home. Poor or rich the now generation is using the smartphone and tablets because of school, work and having fun at home and going shopping to find the lowest price possible. The price for phones and tablets are low enough in price that the average person can buy. That is the reason why the benefits that is being used with smartphones and tablets for home and business has many benefits for all of us.
 

I'm over 65 and do own a Kindle Fire given to me as a present from my kids. I have had it for almost a year and like it for reading although downloading books is a pain. Contrast is great for older eyes. I've tried it for the internet and Email. Not as good for viewing as my desktop PC 24" monitor, so not used for that. The Smartphone window is so small that it is a nonstarter for me to even consider. I have a land line which works fine and no need to pay extra for a smartphone. I was offered a Blackberry when working and said no thanks. I think that the 24/7 connectivity is a a necessity when working but not when retired. Enjoy the roses and cut the extraneous stuff that is meaningless.

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