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Senior surfers are most avid, Web study finds Over-55 age group is demanding more services, better information Friday 24 November 2000 - Canadians over the age of 55 are the most fanatical users of the World Wide Web, according to a new study. Media Metrix Canada, which issues monthly reports on the state of Canada's Internet usage, monitors the actions of more than 6,500 Canadians while they are online. Of that number, 583 are over the age of 55 and it is in this group that Media Metrix said it found the most intensive Internet usage. "We were going to subtitle the analysis Surprising Facts About 55-Plus," said Sherry Barmania, director of marketing and communications at Media Metrix Canada. "They go to the Web very frequently, and they spend a lot of time on the Web." The study, released yesterday, showed that even though people over the age of 55 comprise only seven per cent of Internet users, they stay connected to the Internet for, on average, 748.8 minutes each per month, which is 80 minutes longer than the everyday user. "It seems that they are testing it out and seeing what the Web has to offer," said Ms. Barmania. "They probably have older children in the home, which means they probably have a little more free time (than other age groups) to do that." The study also suggested that over the past year, the 55-plus age group of Canadians using the Internet has seen more than 41.6-per-cent growth in its numbers. The company said this growth could be what is contributing to the amount of time those in the 55-plus group spend online. "We find very frequently that people who are newer to the Web do spend more time online," said Ms. Barmania. "That could also be the reason their usage is so intense." For many Canadians, included those in the over-55 age group, the reason why they have adopted the Internet is for the convenience. "I use it to keep in touch with all my grandchildren because they are all over the world," said 83-yea-old Mollie Arrison. "Yes, it is very convenient ... I have done some shopping. As a matter of fact I have a son in Toronto, so I shop for dinners and tickets for him in Toronto." While the image of an octogenarian banging away on a keyboard and staring at a monitor for hours on end might not be something many younger Canadians can clearly picture, it seems that the Internet has become a tool that many older citizens have learned to use to their advantage. "I am on the internet now working for the CBC ombudsman as one of a panel of people who are trying to assess the fairness of their election coverage," said 72-year-old Clark Davey, former publisher of the Ottawa Citizen. "The other thing I use it for once in a while is to ... bang it on and pick up the sports scores." One Ottawa-area organization that represents Canada's aging population said the most talked-about sites among its membership are those pertaining to health. "I have spoken with some very well known medical professionals in this area and they tell me not only are younger people coming in armed with more information but so are seniors -- typically to the point where they know more than the health practitioners do about the latest research or findings or the latest alternative medicines or treatments.," said Ivan Hale, chief executive of One Voice, The Canadian Seniors Network. Mr. Hale said that might be another reason why so many older people are spending more and more time online. "There is no question when something affects you personally, if you have time and the access to information, you will seek it out." Now that older people are beginning to understand how to access the Internet, Mr. Hale said, One Voice is being forced to put all of its member services and information online, to satisfy its membership. "We are in a transition. We are realizing we need to capture people's e-mail addresses and to offer to distribute information to them electronically," Mr. Hale said. According the Media Metrix study, those in the 55-plus age group are beginning to demand all of their services online. "Depending on who it was, whether they were men or women, they did different things on the net," Ms. Barmania. "Men went more for informational purposes, like travel, health and ... checking things such as stocks, investments and the best place to go have their next vacation." The study said that after monitoring their browsing habits for one month, the three most popular sites visited by those over 55 were Msn.com, Microsoft.com and Yahoo.com. That was further broken down between male and female users, with the men favouring financial- and news- based sites and the women leaning toward online chat forums and places where they could send electronic greeting cards. The study showed that a steadily increasing number of people over the age of 55 not only use the Internet but have learned to make it part of their everyday lives. "I was in Hawaii last winter and you know what? I said the two things miss are my family and my computer," said Ms. Arrison. Vito Pilieci The Ottawa Citizen http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/001124/4929582.html janet paterson, an akinetic rigid subtype parkie 53 now /44 dx cd / 43 onset cd /41 dx pd / 37 onset pd TEL: 613 256 8340 SMAIL: POBox 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada EMAIL: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/