By Bevi Kothare, Customer Operations at Livpact
July 2018
The latest viral video of creating latte art while on a hover board most likely will not be from a senior aged 75+. Neither will the snapchat of the perfect avocado toast drizzled with artesian olive oil.
Does that mean Seniors don’t use social media, and thus technology? Actually, it’s far from the truth. While millennials are often credited with being the target consumer for all things tech, Seniors are slowly changing the landscape, and are credited with being the largest growing segment to hop on board the social media wagon. According to Pew Research center, 59% of all American Seniors say they go online, and that number jumps to 90% when seniors make over $75,000 a year. This research also concluded that 74% of seniors go online everyday- yet most tech is still aimed towards the youth.
We forget that this was the generation that brought man to the moon. They pioneered creating the first computer, they introduced the marriage of technology to medicine and introduced the first Pace Maker. This is the generation that is used to fine tuning technology until it’s the right time and the tech is just about perfect. While they might not be early adopters, they are the ones that want simplicity, ease of use, and they want it to simply work.
Technology companies and innovators can’t turn a blind eye to the generation that helped to shape the very technology we now use. Simple additions like larger fonts, bolder prints and easy to navigate menus will help include multiple generations that are increasingly the largest untapped market.
This is true for not only social and entertainment platforms, but also health care, which is often aimed towards the sandwich generation or their younger counter parts. Seniors often have the most complex and chronic health conditions, making them the ideal candidate for using technology to manage their conditions, yet it’s simply not marketed towards them.
Seniors often have the time to thoroughly test out a product, and they have the experience and knowledge to make an ideal beta tester. They are the nurses, doctors, engineers, lawyers and accountants of previous decades, and bring that know how to everything they do, including the technology they use. As research shows, they use and embrace technology, with fine-tuning that only comes with experience and age. Take it from this millennial, whippersnappers have a lot to learn, even in today’s tech-driven world.