Boomers Shake Up the Internet

Marketers and the media are waking up to the power of older consumers online, as the oldest baby boomers prepare to turn 60 in 2006.   ;   eMarketer estimates that in 2005 there are 33.2 million people online in the US between the ages of 50 and 64, triple the number of 65+ online users. And unlike today’s seniors, boomers are dedicated Internet users and broadband fans. As boomers approach the next phase of their lives, companies will be challenged to keep up with their ever-demanding ways, both online and off.   ;   eMarketer’s new report, « Seniors Online: How Aging Boomers Will Shake Up the Market, » released today, analyzes the changing usage patterns of the older adult and senior online populations, and finds powerful differences in Internet usage between today’s older Americans and the current senior population.   ;   Today, two-thirds of adults ages 50-64 use the Internet, compared with 28% of those 65 and older, according to eMarketer.   ;   « The current generation of adults over 65 hasn’t fully adopted Internet use, in large part because many had retired before online access became common in the workplace, » says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer Senior Analyst and