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More over-50s own e-readers than youngsters
17.02.11 | Lisa Campbell
More people aged over 55 own e-readers than the younger generation, according to a new study on digital reading habits.
Data released by research company OnePoll shows 6% of readers in the over-55 category–equivalent to 500,000 people–own a digital device to consume literature in comparison to just 5% of those aged 18–24.
Another 18% of the over-55's surveyed said they plan to invest in an e-reader in the next 12 months.
William Higham, managing director of OnePoll, said: "The over-50s are a vital part of any publisher's audience. They are typically heavy book-readers and until now they were staunchly traditional in their attitudes to reading. But these new figures show they are beginning to embrace electronic books."
The results also revealed that 95% of people in the older age category use the internet for shopping, with books ranking as the most popular purchase.
Of those surveyed, 62% of the over-50s, dubbed "silver surfers", shop online for books, in comparison to 61% who purchase online holidays and 52% who look out for DVDs.
Of the digital devices most popular among older readers, Amazon's Kindle came out top with 47% of those surveyed claiming it was the best, while 31% preferred Apple's iPad and 14% rated the Sony Reader.
The survey covered 2,000 people aged 50 and over in OnePoll's SilverPoll research panel.
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Headlines like this are amusing because they imply two things:
1) The internet is a brave new world - newsflash it has been with us for quite a long time now.
2) That only young people use the net and therefore are the key consumers
It is because the net has been around so long that those over 50's were actually among the first adopters of the web. Many would have been in their 30's when the excitement of the internet started logging in with dial up modems and at first trawling bulletin boards before venturing out there on the information highway.
eReaders also have some inherent positives for the over 50's, and this is not patronising because I am closer to this age group than I'd like, mainly it is the fulfilment of a device which can download and read books easily, alter text size and not place strain on the eyes. This is a generation that looked at eBooks in their development on the net for the past decade waiting for an eReader which didn't look like it had been designed by Alan Sugar in 1985 and now with the Kindle and a host of other suitably priced eReaders to choose from are adopting the technology they have waited patiently for at a price which is right.
As for youngsters, it would be as remiss and patronising of me to infer based only on social and media hearsay that they have no interest in reading anymore...
Over 50s have all the jobs, all the houses, all the holidays... of course they have all the gadgets too.
I am in my 30s and my peer group is too busy deciding between saving for a mortgage deposit (if that doesn't seem too far-fetched) and saving for a pension (assuming there won't be much around from the govt when the time comes) and potentially saving for childcare or parent-care - and of course, this does assume some-one's finally fired some fogies to employ them - to even think about e-readers.
Disposable income, anyone?
It depends what you mean by youngsters? Childrens libraries are booming at the moment and i've never heard of a librarian doing a story-telling session with an e-book reader!
I am 57 and I agree wholeheartedly with every single word in your comment. Thank you so much for saving me the trouble of saying it myself!
You should read the article again before making any such glib inference. It clearly states that these numbers are percentages of 'readers', not of the population as a whole. How many young people do or don't read has nothing to do with it.
I was agreeing with caffeinenights, not Prince Alb, in case there's any confusion.
Some valid points here, but let's not forget that some of us over 50s need our jobs for our own survival, are also saving for our own pensions, are still providing homes and bailing out our off-spring post university. Don't presume life is settled once you hit 50- remember those mid-life crises- and I'm sure when you do reach this stage of your life, you too will object to being labelled a 'fogie'.
Good luck with your life decisions and quest for disposable income.
I'm right, though.
I know a number of over-50s who are unemployed or under-employed with little chance of finding more work before they reach retirement age. Many of these also live in low-paid areas of the country and so don't have savings to fall back on. We don't all own houses, holidays are spent staying with family-members as we can't afford anything else. If you have a job that pays enough to cover your bills, consider yourself lucky.
Most over-50s I know prefer old-fashioned print books although some are curious about e-readers. I've a feeling they may experiment for a while and then set them aside.
I'm puzzled by the agression shown by Eliza K - I'm in my 60s and hope to be able to afford an e-reader soon but in my 20s and 30s I was struggling with either paying huge rents or a 16% mortgage and wouldn't have considered any gadgets, holidays, eating out etc etc. as despite having a good clerical job there was no spare money for treats nor a lot of time for reading. Now I have time to read but the print in books has got smaller (for me!) and the idea of being able to read without a struggle and going back to old favourites or getting the latest biographies, novels, recipe books or even DIY books is very attractive. So even if you are going through hard times the so-called baby-boomers also had to struggle when they were younger and their parents, whose lives were disrupted by war, didn't have the spare cash to help them out.
Daddy, what's a mortgage?
Headlines like this are amusing because they imply two things:
1) The internet is a brave new world - newsflash it has been with us for quite a long time now.
2) That only young people use the net and therefore are the key consumers
It is because the net has been around so long that those over 50's were actually among the first adopters of the web. Many would have been in their 30's when the excitement of the internet started logging in with dial up modems and at first trawling bulletin boards before venturing out there on the information highway.
eReaders also have some inherent positives for the over 50's, and this is not patronising because I am closer to this age group than I'd like, mainly it is the fulfilment of a device which can download and read books easily, alter text size and not place strain on the eyes. This is a generation that looked at eBooks in their development on the net for the past decade waiting for an eReader which didn't look like it had been designed by Alan Sugar in 1985 and now with the Kindle and a host of other suitably priced eReaders to choose from are adopting the technology they have waited patiently for at a price which is right.
As for youngsters, it would be as remiss and patronising of me to infer based only on social and media hearsay that they have no interest in reading anymore...
I am 57 and I agree wholeheartedly with every single word in your comment. Thank you so much for saving me the trouble of saying it myself!
You should read the article again before making any such glib inference. It clearly states that these numbers are percentages of 'readers', not of the population as a whole. How many young people do or don't read has nothing to do with it.
Over 50s have all the jobs, all the houses, all the holidays... of course they have all the gadgets too.
I am in my 30s and my peer group is too busy deciding between saving for a mortgage deposit (if that doesn't seem too far-fetched) and saving for a pension (assuming there won't be much around from the govt when the time comes) and potentially saving for childcare or parent-care - and of course, this does assume some-one's finally fired some fogies to employ them - to even think about e-readers.
Disposable income, anyone?
Some valid points here, but let's not forget that some of us over 50s need our jobs for our own survival, are also saving for our own pensions, are still providing homes and bailing out our off-spring post university. Don't presume life is settled once you hit 50- remember those mid-life crises- and I'm sure when you do reach this stage of your life, you too will object to being labelled a 'fogie'.
Good luck with your life decisions and quest for disposable income.
I know a number of over-50s who are unemployed or under-employed with little chance of finding more work before they reach retirement age. Many of these also live in low-paid areas of the country and so don't have savings to fall back on. We don't all own houses, holidays are spent staying with family-members as we can't afford anything else. If you have a job that pays enough to cover your bills, consider yourself lucky.
Most over-50s I know prefer old-fashioned print books although some are curious about e-readers. I've a feeling they may experiment for a while and then set them aside.
It depends what you mean by youngsters? Childrens libraries are booming at the moment and i've never heard of a librarian doing a story-telling session with an e-book reader!
I was agreeing with caffeinenights, not Prince Alb, in case there's any confusion.
I'm right, though.
I'm puzzled by the agression shown by Eliza K - I'm in my 60s and hope to be able to afford an e-reader soon but in my 20s and 30s I was struggling with either paying huge rents or a 16% mortgage and wouldn't have considered any gadgets, holidays, eating out etc etc. as despite having a good clerical job there was no spare money for treats nor a lot of time for reading. Now I have time to read but the print in books has got smaller (for me!) and the idea of being able to read without a struggle and going back to old favourites or getting the latest biographies, novels, recipe books or even DIY books is very attractive. So even if you are going through hard times the so-called baby-boomers also had to struggle when they were younger and their parents, whose lives were disrupted by war, didn't have the spare cash to help them out.
Daddy, what's a mortgage?