Internet connections mostly fail on users 50-64-years-old

Fact recorded on: March 12, 2009. Categories: Broadband, Internet usage.

All demographic groups are about equally likely to have certain devices fail them, though seniors who own cell phones are significantly less likely than younger cell phone owners to have problems with their cell phones. Just 18% of cell phone owners 65 years old and older reported that their cell phones had failed in the past year, while 26% of 50-64 year olds, 33% of 30-49 year olds and 30% of 18-29 year olds reported cell phone problems. Seniors are not as exclusively reliant on their cell phones as younger owners, and so they may have less wear and tear on their phones than do younger users who are more likely to experience cell phone failure. Significantly more seniors than 18-49 year olds who own cell phones also have landline phones at home. Fully 79% of senior cell phone owners also have regular phones, while just 30% of 18-29 year olds and 52% of 30-49 year olds have both types of phones.

  % 18-29
year old		 % 30-49
year old		 % 50-64
year old		 % 65+
year old
Home internet users to have HOME INTERNET
CONNECTION fail		 43% 45% 46% 37%
Computer owners to have COMPUTERS fail 39 40 38 35
Cell phone owners to have CELL PHONES fail 30 33 26 18
Source: Pew Internet Project

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