The elderly are the most tech savvy of all says a recent survey. Despite widespread belief that the older generations aren’t too confident with technology, when it comes to the internet, they are on par or even more self-assured than those in the younger age brackets.
Broadband provider Plusnet surveyed 1096 people and found that it was those aged over 55 who scored highest with understanding terms such as bandwidth, Wi-Fi, cursor, router and download with 72% claiming to understand all the terms perfectly. This contrasted with just 61% of 16-24 year olds understanding the expressions.
Over a fifth (22%) of those aged over 55 have taken lessons on how to use the Internet, compared to only 8% of 16-24 year olds, perhaps going some way to explaining the previous figures.
Sending emails and shopping online are the stronger areas for those aged over 55 with 96% and 91% claiming confidence with these activities, compared to 94% and 83% amongst 16-24 year olds respectively. Perhaps surprisingly, online bingo is something that the younger generations are big on, much more than the older generations. Out of the 1096 surveyed, 50% of those aged 16-24 confidently play online compared to only 24% of those over 55.
Talking about the survey, Jamie Ford, CEO of Plusnet said, “Although youngsters have greater exposure to the Internet through their communication habits and means of education, it is the older segment of the audience who are making the effort to get to grips with the net, and therefore learning more about how it all works. Perhaps this Christmas it will be the grandparents’ turn to show the grandkids how to use their new gaming console or e-book.”
