Smartphone usage by older adults is up — why?
<!– google_ad_section_start –>Times change, so do phones. One year ago according to the latest from Pew, 18{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of the 65+ had a smartphone – today, 27{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} have them. Why? Well, for one thing, when a phone breaks, smartphones are easy to find in the store as directed by a rep and online, while ‘basic’ phones (Verizon has 6 unique basic phones) are buried under pre-paid plans. AT&T's two unique brands are very difficult to find, with a handful of non-contract Go Phones – found online after wading through a gazillion smartphone choices. Also, 41{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of people aged 65-69 are smartphone owners, perhaps side effects of working longer, greater longevity, families with pics, videos, and chats that must be seen NOW. But still, more
Times change, so do phones. One year ago according to the latest from Pew, 18{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of the 65+ had a smartphone – today, 27{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} have them. Why? Well, for one thing, when a phone breaks, smartphones are easy to find in the store as directed by a rep and online, while ‘basic’ phones (Verizon has 6 unique basic phones) are buried under pre-paid plans. AT&T's two unique brands are very difficult to find, with a handful of non-contract Go Phones – found online after wading through a gazillion smartphone choices. Also, 41{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of people aged 65-69 are smartphone owners, perhaps side effects of working longer, greater longevity, families with pics, videos, and chats that must be seen NOW. But still, more than 70{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of the 41 million 65+ still do not have smartphones. This likely isn’t because of the cost of the plans (43{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of smartphone owners pay between $50 and $100) – only 10{c754d8f4a6af077a182a96e5a5e47e38ce50ff83c235579d09299c097124e52d} of the 65+ are statistically classified as living in poverty.
SOURCE: Laurie Orlov’s blog – Read entire story here.
