Since the pandemic started affecting the mental well-being of people, everybody from Gen Z to senior citizens rushed towards their cell phones, and it ended up being an addiction. Data from AARP's, which is a non-profit American organization of 50-plus citizens, revealed a Tech Trends report, according to which smartphone purchases increased among adults ages fifty and above during the pandemic.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, older US citizens adopted technology very minimally and only when it was necessary. There is a general idea that older people hesitate while using digital devices or have limited knowledge of tech products. However, it is not true. Instead, seniors love to buy those devices from which they can benefit and resist only when they find something less important. But, during the lockdown caused by the pandemic, social media beats every other thing on the internet, and older people find digital devices a necessity. They became keener in getting information about medical care and also social connectedness was at its peak.
Moving on, if we look at the consumers between ages 50-59, 29 percent of them bought smartphones, 15 percent bought smart TV, 12 percent Tablet, the wearable device 11 percent and desktops 5 percent in 2019. And consumers between the ages of 60-69 bought relatively fewer smartphones at 23 percent, smart TV and Tablet at 11 percent, wearable devices at 6 percent, and desktops at 4 percent. Also, 70 plus respondents bought only 15 percent of smartphones. Senior citizens are unlikely to buy any of the digital devices as the percentage of purchases is very low. Next, in 2020 when the pandemic reached almost everywhere the seniors were asked how many of them purchased digital devices and they said almost 45 percent of people ages between 50-59 had purchased smartphones. There is a 16% increase in mobile phone purchases in just one year. Furthermore, people ages 60 to 69 also bought more digital devices other than smartphones. They added 16 percent smart TV, 10 percent tablet, wearable device at 11 percent, and desktops at 5 percent. The over-70 age group purchased digital devices unexpectedly. Around 24 percent of them bought smartphones to keep themselves updated about the news and they also bought smart TVs and laptops with 13 percent each. Additionally, in 2021 the stats are correlated as most of the 70- plus consumers escalated their tech purchasing just like in 2020.
The graph shows older citizens (50-plus) increased purchases of tablets by 25 percent (50-59) and 21 percent (60-69), and most of them significantly bought laptops and wearable devices more compared to previous years.
The insights shared by Insider are a very useful piece of information that helps us to know what devices are popular among older consumers. It also helps to know the difficulties they might have faced in using tech products so that companies can look at how they can provide ease to their customers.