Technology Among the 50+ Club

According to a 2021 study from AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), those of us who are over 50 can’t get enough of technology. Interested to know what we have adopted and why? See how your answers compare.

Top Reasons for Adopting New Tech

The top motivator for all adults 50+ is wanting to stay connected, with 66% citing this reason. In addition 59% of us have turned to technology to be entertained and 47% find it helpful in managing day-to-day responsibilities. Many also use technology to stay healthy (43%), to learn a new skill (38%), or to pursue a passion (36%).

Unsurprisingly, embracing technology to maintain personal independence increases with age:

• 22% amongst 50–59 year olds

• 29% for those 60-69 year and

• 35% for people 70-plus

What We Want to Learn About Tech

Adults 50-plus continue to want to learn about technology adoption. Main interests among this group surveyed include learning how to manage smart-home technology (23%), video chat with friends and family (22%) and stream entertainment from sites like Netflix (22%).

If you’re amongst those looking to pick up some new skills in these areas, you can check out our posts on these topics here (intro to Zoom video chatting), here (3 easy steps to using FaceTime), here (how to add multiple people to FaceTime) and here ( using video chat to help others). We also covered the basics here of how to stream from your smartphone or tablet to your TV using an affordable device called Chromecast.

Looking Ahead

Interest in technology among older adults continues to grow. By way of example, many are not just concerned with catching up on current technology but are aware of and interested in new advances, with 64% of 50-plus adults interested in at least one type of upcoming innovation.

Putting their money where their intentions are, older adults continue to spend on technology. Most (70%), in fact, made a tech purchase in the past 12 months. That’s on par with the 72% purchase rate for 2020, when the pandemic-fueled uptick kicked in with a significant jump from 2019’s prepandemic level of 51%. 

In macro terms, people’s spending on technology remains over double that of prepandemic levels, at $821 average compared to $394 in 2019. Within the next 8 years, the 50-plus market is projected to swell to 132 million people who are expected to spend on average $108 billion per annum on tech products.

What would you like to acquire in terms of new tech and what would you like more help in leveraging with your current tech products? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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