More Seniors Logging On

Older people’s use of the Internet is growing, according to the April issue of AARP Bulletin.

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 92 percent of Americans ages 18 to 29 use the Internet; 85 percent of those 30 to 49; 72 percent of those 50 to 64; and 37 percent of those 65-plus.

Jeffrey Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenburg School for Communication in Los Angeles, notes that older folks are attracted to social networking sites.

Older users are less interested in Facebook and Myspace and more interested in communities with such online activities as chess, bridge, poker, Scrabble or dealing with the physical and emotional toll of a disease.

“Whatever the pretext,” says the article, “community has a pull that isn’t limited by age. More than 90 percent of users on both sides of 50 say that online community is “somewhat” to “very” important, and 100 percent of over-50 users report benefiting from their online communities.”