Greater Number of Older Adults Using Broadband

According to a recent Pew Research study the broadband revolution is catching fire for older adult online users.Overall, the survey found that 63% of adult Americans now have broadband internet connections at home, a 15% increase from a year earlier. In particular, older adults have experienced rapid growth in home broadband adoption with those who are age 65 or older growing from 19% to 30% for a 58% increase. Of those who logged on at home, 32% said they connect to the internet with a high-speed connection.The growth in broadband adoption indicates that the economic recession has had little effect on the decisions by older adult users to buy or keep a home high-speed connection. More than half of home broadband users said broadband was very important to at least one dimension of their lives, such as accessing health care providers, government officials, community news, or contributing to economic growth.“For many Americans, a home broadband connection is a conduit for connecting to community and economic opportunity,” said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project and principal author of the report. “That puts broadband in the ‘must keep’ category for most users, even when economic times are tough.”