According to the 2011 Communications Market Report from OFCOM new generational digital divides are opening up. There has been a huge growth in smartphone take-up in the past 12 months, over a quarter (27%) of UK adults are now smartphone users, with 59% of these claiming to have purchased their phone in the past year.

For younger adults in particular it’s now all about the smartphone. Over 50% of all people aged 16 - 34 are smartphone users but that drops to just 4% for people aged 65 - 74 and right off the graph (0%) for those over 75.



It's stupid to look at people just by their age and include everyone in one huge sector from 50 plus to 100 plus. The typical older person doesn't exist, there is great diversity. Age is not a single absolute entity. It is made up of a number of influences - health, wealth, mind, company kept, lifestyle, activity.

Research by The Oxford Internet Institute surveys show that income is as an important barrier for internet use as age". Cost is a factor but the richest as well as the poorest members of our society are over 50, 80% of UK wealth is owned by people over 50.

Are smart phones too smart for older people? We have more mobile phone shops in our High Streets than any other type of store, stacked wall to wall with dozens of different phones, listing standard features, advanced features, rates, minutes, coverage and jargon such as Android, Symbian and 3G HSDPA. If smartphones were really smart they would be a lot more simple

Smartphones are go anywhere mini PC's, with small screens and tiny keyboards, the PC therefore will be preferable for many older people who want to go online. Design for the young and you exclude the old; design for the old and you include everyone

Younger people have been have been brought up in a world of modern technology, they live on their smartphones. While older people have lived most of their lives without, brought up before the digital revolution. One of the primary driving factors behind people’s use of technologies is relevance. Millions of older people have yet to be convinced of the need to go online let alone buy a smartphone. Less focus on technology itself but more focus on content that meets the needs of older people. If older people think there is something worth while for them, they will use it.

A smartphone was described in the OFCOM 2011 Communications Market Report as ‘a phone on which you can easily access emails, download files and applications, as well as view websites and generally surf the internet. Popular brands of Smartphone include BlackBerry, iPhone and Android phones such as the HTC Desire’.
Aug 2011