The elderly's uses and attitudes towards the Internet

Abstract

Despite the growth of the Internet, one area that marketers have not really discussed is the elderly's use of the Internet. Given the rapid growth of this population as well as the potential the Internet holds for them, it is a subject worth consideration. This paper discusses the use of the Internet by a national random survey of elderly consumers and the impact of attitude, innovation, and demographics on their use. This study shows that the elderly consumers have favorable intentions towards using the Internet; most learned to use the Internet on their own; and they preferred to learn more about the Internet if such classes were offered at convenient locations. Those seniors with higher levels of income are more willing to both use the Internet and purchase products online; while education levels positively impacted only Internet use. Finally, this paper provides implications for marketers and suggestions for future research.