Habits of older internet users analysed

Research by ACMA, entitled ‘Digital lives of older Australians’, aims to explore the levels of online engagement of Australians aged 65 years and over.

The study demonstrates that older Australians are active participants in digital life, with nearly four in five people in this age bracket online. The figure shows an upward trend, as four years ago only 65% of older Australians were online.

All older internet users go online from their home on a desktop, with a growing percentage using tablet and mobile. In addition, the number of Australian internet users surpasses that of the UK and USA.

Older internet users tend to engage more strongly with traditional media such as free-to-air television. However, 26% also accessed news or read newspapers online.

The research found that email is the most common online activity, followed by banking and paying bills.

One in five older Australians has never accessed the internet.

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