{"id":97142,"date":"2004-03-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2004-03-28T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2004\/03\/28\/part-2-familiar-concerns-drive-wired-seniors-online-research\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:14:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:14:24","slug":"part-2-familiar-concerns-drive-wired-seniors-online-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-2-familiar-concerns-drive-wired-seniors-online-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 2. Familiar concerns drive wired seniors\u2019 online research"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;wired-seniors-want-to-keep-up-to-date-whether-that-means-emailing-their-children-or-staying-current-with-the-news&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"wired-seniors-want-to-keep-up-to-date-whether-that-means-emailing-their-children-or-staying-current-with-the-news\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wired seniors want to keep up to date, whether that means emailing their children or staying current with the news.<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <strong>Communication tops the agenda for wired seniors \u2013 but they generally stick to email. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As noted, email is equally popular among Internet users age 65 or older and their younger counterparts. Fully 94% of wired seniors have sent or received email. But fewer use instant messaging to keep in touch with friends and family \u2013 28% of wired seniors have IM\u2019d, compared to 39% of all Internet users. There is a small group of seniors on the cutting edge of communication technology, however. Nine percent of wired seniors have made a phone call online \u2013 compared to 11% of all users. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <strong>Wired seniors are avid information seekers. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wired seniors are similar to the rest of the Internet population when it comes to information utilities. Eighty-two percent of wired seniors have used a search engine to find information online, compared to 90% of the general population of Internet users. Fifty-nine percent of wired seniors have gone online to get news, compared to 71% of all users. Thirty-seven percent of wired seniors look for news or information about politics and the campaign, compared to 46% of all users. In addition, 60% of wired seniors have looked for information on a government Web site, compared to 66% of all users. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today\u2019s wired seniors are much more interested in religious information than the seniors who had Internet access in 2000.\u00a0 Just 11% of wired seniors had looked for religious or spiritual material online in 2000. In the spring of 2003, 26% of wired seniors reported searching for this type of information online, compared to 29% of all Internet users. <\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;health-information-is-popular-among-wired-seniors&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"health-information-is-popular-among-wired-seniors\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Health information is popular among wired seniors.<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wired seniors are likely to describe their health as \u201cfair\u201d or \u201cpoor\u201d and they are more likely than other age groups to be living with a disability or chronic illness.[5.numoffset=&#8221;5&#8243; Fox, Susannah and Deborah Fallows. Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project: \u201cInternet Health Resources.\u201d (July 16, 2003) Available at: <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2003\/Internet-Health-Resources.aspx\">https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2003\/Internet-Health-Resources.aspx<\/a>] Sixty-six percent of wired seniors have looked for health or medical information online \u2013 the same percent as the general Internet population. However, this represents a more than 25% increase since 2000 in the number of online seniors who had performed health searches. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fully 53% of wired seniors have gone to Web sites that provide information or support for a specific medical condition or personal situation, compared to 54% of the general Internet population. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to specific types of health information, both wired seniors and younger users are pretty equally interested in details about a specific disease, treatment, or drug. (See table on next page for more details.) Seniors and their loved ones would do well to keep up to date since a recent RAND Health study found that seniors got the recommended care for age-related conditions only one-third of the time.[6. Wenger, Neil. RAND Health: \u201cQuality of Medical Care Provided to Vulnerable Community Dwelling Older Patients.\u201d (November 2003) Summary available at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rand.org\/health\/healthpubs\/seniors.html\">http:\/\/www.rand.org\/health\/healthpubs\/seniors.html<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wired seniors truly surpass younger users in pursuit of only one health-related topic:\u00a0 Medicare and Medicaid information. Indeed, the Center for Medicare Education recently issued a policy brief to help senior educators guide seniors through the thicket of new options.[7. Stevens, Beth. Center for Medicare Education: \u201cHow Seniors Learn.\u201d (2003) Available at: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.medicareed.org\/content\/CMEPubDocs\/ACFA8CC.pdf\">http:\/\/www.medicareed.org\/content\/CMEPubDocs\/ACFA8CC.pdf<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why don\u2019t online seniors seek health information on the Web? The main reason, according to their answers in our December 2002 survey, is that they are satisfied with the health and medical information they get elsewhere. Most did not fret about untrustworthy material online. Several said they didn\u2019t have any health concerns at that point in their lives. And a few said it is because they would not know where to start looking online. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"605\" alt=\"Health topics searched online\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/B4255FDF565B45758E6BC9E931638F74.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;wired-seniors-are-doing-more-on-the-internet-but-they-are-still-less-likely-than-younger-internet-users-to-try-many-online-activities&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"wired-seniors-are-doing-more-on-the-internet-but-they-are-still-less-likely-than-younger-internet-users-to-try-many-online-activities\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wired seniors are doing more on the Internet, but they are still less likely than younger Internet users to try many online activities.<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There have been big increases since 2000 in the number of online seniors doing several key activities on the Net. It is important to stress, though, that even with these high growth rates, it is usually the case that online seniors have done these online activities at <i>lower rates<\/i> that younger Internet users. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A rundown of the main activities we measure is on page 10 of this report. Here are some highlights of activities where there have been significant increases:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>66% of wired seniors had done product research online by the end of 2003. That is an 18-point jump since 2000, and a growth rate of 38%.<\/li>\n<li>47% of online seniors had bought something on the Internet by the end of 2003. That is an 11-point increase since 2000 and a growth rate of 31%.<\/li>\n<li>41% have made travel reservations online by the end of 2003. That is a 16-point increase since 2000 and a growth rate of 64%. <\/li>\n<li>60% of wired seniors had visited government Web sites by the end of 2003. That is a 20-point jump since 2000, and a growth rate of 50%.<\/li>\n<li>26% of wired seniors had looked for religious and spiritual information by the end of 2003. That is a 15-point jump since 2000, or a growth rate of 136%.<\/li>\n<li>20% of online seniors had done banking on the Internet by the end of 2003. That is a 12-point increase since 2000 and a growth rate of 150%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to stress that there is a double-edged quality to several of these figures. While there has been notable growth, it is still the case that seniors who use the Internet are less likely than younger Americans to do transactions online. One example: 66% of Internet users age 65 and older have looked up a product online, compared to 78% of all users.\u00a0 That gap is repeated when it comes to buying things online.\u00a0 While 47% of wired seniors have bought a product online, such as books, music, toys, or clothing, 66% of all Internet users have done so. Forty-one percent of wired seniors have made a reservation for travel or bought tickets online, compared to 57% of all users. Twenty percent of wired seniors have done their banking online, compared to 34% of all users. And just 9% of wired seniors have participated in an online auction, compared to 24% of all users.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russell E. Morgan, president of the SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation,[8.numoffset=&#8221;8&#8243; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.spry.org\/\">www.spry.org<\/a>] says, \u201cSeniors are more suspicious. They hear about identity fraud and credit card theft online and think, \u2018Why take the chance?\u2019\u201d However, Morgan points out that transportation and managing one\u2019s own finances are the two issues that worry seniors most. He adds, \u201cThe more seniors can track their finances, the less likely they will get into trouble later on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wired seniors are essentially equal to younger users when it comes to researching financial information, such as stock quotes or mortgage interest rates.\u00a0 Forty-one percent of wired seniors have done this type of research, compared to 44% of all users. Fifteen percent of wired seniors buy or sell stocks, mutual funds, or bonds online, compared to 13% of the general Internet population. These numbers have not changed significantly between 2000 and 2004 \u2013 wired seniors and younger users have maintained, but not increased, their interest in following the stock market online.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thomas S. Tullis, senior vice president of human interface design at Fidelity Investments, observes that while seniors are increasingly willing to use the Web for financial research, they are still more conservative than younger users when it comes to making trades.<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;games-hobbies-and-other-diversions-attract-a-smaller-group-of-wired-seniors&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"games-hobbies-and-other-diversions-attract-a-smaller-group-of-wired-seniors\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Games, hobbies, and other diversions attract a smaller group of wired seniors.<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pew Internet Project surveys consistently find that hobby information is among the most popular topics among Internet users \u2013 76% of all users have done this type of search.\u00a0 But only 52% of wired seniors have searched for hobby information. Fifty-four percent of wired seniors have surfed the Web \u201cjust for fun,\u201d compared to 67% of all Internet users. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wired seniors are among the least likely groups to download music, video, or game files, but they are among the most likely to play a game online.\u00a0 Thirty-five percent of Internet users age 65 and older have played a game online, compared to 39% of all users.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is one hobby activity that elders clearly dominate \u2013 36% of wired seniors have researched their family\u2019s history or genealogy, compared to 24% of all users.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"473\" height=\"716\" alt=\"Online activities: The portions of Internet users in each age group who have used the Internet for some popular online activities.\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/media\/0104526B9E82466A92C79CD50992CB80.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter\"><\/figure><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wired seniors want to keep up to date, whether that means emailing their children or staying current with the news. Communication tops the agenda for wired seniors \u2013 but they generally stick to email. As noted, email is equally popular among Internet users age 65 or older and their younger counterparts. Fully 94% of wired [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_api_pending":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_hidden":false,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[526],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-97142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","formats-report","research-teams-internet"],"label":false,"post_parent":97122,"word_count":1361,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-2-familiar-concerns-drive-wired-seniors-online-research\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":97122,"title":"Older Americans and the Internet","slug":"older-americans-and-the-internet","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/older-americans-and-the-internet\/","is_active":false},{"id":97130,"title":"Acknowledgements","slug":"acknowledgements-28","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/acknowledgements-28\/","is_active":false},{"id":97135,"title":"Part 1. 22% of Americans 65 and older use the Internet","slug":"part-1-22-of-americans-65-and-older-use-the-internet","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-1-22-of-americans-65-and-older-use-the-internet\/","is_active":false},{"id":97142,"title":"Part 2. Familiar concerns drive wired seniors\u2019 online research","slug":"part-2-familiar-concerns-drive-wired-seniors-online-research","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-2-familiar-concerns-drive-wired-seniors-online-research\/","is_active":true},{"id":97147,"title":"Part 3. Implications for the future","slug":"part-3-implications-for-the-future-2","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-3-implications-for-the-future-2\/","is_active":false},{"id":97152,"title":"Methodology","slug":"methodology-136-2","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/methodology-136-2\/","is_active":false}],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":{"id":97142,"title":"Part 2. 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Implications for the future","slug":"part-3-implications-for-the-future-2","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-3-implications-for-the-future-2\/","is_active":false,"page_num":5},"previous_post":{"id":97135,"title":"Part 1. 22% of Americans 65 and older use the Internet","slug":"part-1-22-of-americans-65-and-older-use-the-internet","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-1-22-of-americans-65-and-older-use-the-internet\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},"pagination_items":[{"id":97122,"title":"Older Americans and the Internet","slug":"older-americans-and-the-internet","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/older-americans-and-the-internet\/","is_active":false,"page_num":1},{"id":97130,"title":"Acknowledgements","slug":"acknowledgements-28","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/acknowledgements-28\/","is_active":false,"page_num":2},{"id":97135,"title":"Part 1. 22% of Americans 65 and older use the Internet","slug":"part-1-22-of-americans-65-and-older-use-the-internet","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2004\/03\/28\/part-1-22-of-americans-65-and-older-use-the-internet\/","is_active":false,"page_num":3},{"id":97142,"title":"Part 2. 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