TAKEAWAY: Members of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-1964) continue to have an impact—-and now it is through the way they have taken to the new technology, smartphones, the iPad and social networking. Newspaper editors are wise to pay attention to this loyal segment.
We like our connections
Photo courtesy of http://www.matthewferrara.com/rssfeed/tech_myths/
I am not one to put myself on categories according to my age—-65 as of my last birthday. As a result, I always look at surveys based on age, and especially about us Baby Boomers, with a grain of skepticism.
Now the Pew’s Internet & American Life Project reports that as of April 2012, more than half of United States residents over 65 are online.
Why am I not surprised? Perhaps it is because I exchange emails with a large number of my high school and college classmates, whom I also find in abundance on Twitter and Facebook.
It is also not a surprise that the over 65—-and please don’t call us “geezers”—take to the tablet with gusto.
Highlights of the Pew’s Internet & American Life Project
—As of April 2012, 53% of American adults age 65 and older use the internet or email
—As of February 2012, one third (34%) of internet users age 65 and older use social networking sites such as Facebook, and 18% do so on a typical day.
—Some 69% of adults ages 65 and older report that they have a mobile phone, up from 57% in May 2010.
The Nielsen study
The iPad is no longer a device for just young men, according to new data from Nielsen.
People over the age of 45 now account for 37% of the tablet, a.k.a. iPad, market according to Nielsen.
It is not just the tablet that members of my generation take to, also smartphones. Before I checked any of these studies I had already witnessed in airport lounges worldwide, frequented by the 55+ businessmen and women, where iPhones and iPads are as numerous as bowls of peanuts and pretzels.
Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 are adopting smartphones at a faster rate than any other age group. Just about 30 percent of all mobile-equipped, soon-to-be seniors now own a smartphone, marking a five percent jump over Q2 of this year.
And for those who think the tablet is a child pacification device, think again, it may be a Baby Boomer’s pacification device, too.
Although, come to think about it, we have been a difficult generation to pacify, which is part of the reason I am a bit incredulous about the Pew’s Internet & American Life Project’s description of the oldest Baby Boomers as the “silent generation”.
As I remember, we have not been silent about most issues facing us.
Just like we are not silent about our delight in mingling with all the sexy technology and social networking of today.
If, as it is often said, it is older readers who are the most devoted and loyal to their newspapers—-in whichever form—-, then it’s time editors pay attention to the figures in this recent study and realize that it will be worth the effort to create content and opportunities to continue to attract their older readers both thru print and digital platforms.
Most of those Baby Boomers plan to be around for another 20 years—at least.
Of special interest
Good news for those guys at our favorite drawing app, Paper 53, recently awarded an Apple Design Award. Congrats! Let’s keep doodling.
http://blog.fiftythree.com/post/24916653139/apple-design-award-just-over-a-year-ago-we
The iPad Design Lab: Storytelling in the Age of the Tablet
Video walkthrough of the iPad prototype of iPad Design Lab
