SRA Update

Who’s Doing What Online?

More and more retirees are going online these days according to Statistics Canada studies. But what are they doing while connected?

The most common Internet application among those both under and over age 65 is email where 9 of 10 people reported using Internet for email.

Beyond that, retirees generally used most other Internet applications to a lesser extent than did younger Web users. Here are the breakdowns for the most common uses of the Internet for the 65 plus grouping:

• 36% played games on their computers
• 59% looked for travel information
• 56% looked for weather updates
• 54% surfed for fun
• 52% viewed news or sports
• 52% looked for health and medical information
• 40% accessed online banking
• 26% placed online shopping orders

While the trends are changing, it is clear that retirees are increasingly using the Internet to stay connected and conduct their daily activities. As more computer literate people move to retire, expectations are that these trends will increase rapidly. Business and other organizations looking to attract retirees need to be aware of these trends and plan to adapt their communication processes to reach a new generation of retirees.

From Good Times- January-February 2015