Senior Americans, ages 62 and older are becoming more and more prevalent on the Internet, according to an article in the September/October AARP Magazine. The triteness that many younger folks treat older netizens (or cybercitizens) is certainly unfounded when you take a good look at the statistics presented in this special report.

52% of Americans ages 62-71 are online. Why should that be surprising? As a baby-boomer, computers and the Internet were a given in my life from the time I was approximately 30, and those working on these developments and scientific researches would have been my age, and the generation older. As common Internet protocols were developed in the 1970’s, the practical application of such digital transfer of information became increasingly important. Without going into the techie terms and the laborious information about how each step was taken, it is sufficient to say that all of these steps led to what we use so commonly today. E-mail, education and research may have been the first to line up to use these protocols, but as commercialization of the Internet came into being, the ability to access and file information, create buying and selling platforms and the creation of the WWW (World Wide Web) became the wave of the present, AND the future.

Mature Americans are less frivolous, generally, than younger folks in their Internet use. 59% of those interviewed (Results compiled from surveys by Focalyst and Dynamic Logic, and the Pew Internet and American Life Project) say that the use search engines regularly, and use the Internet and e-mail to keep up with family and friends. Only 21% are playing games while some 66% of the young in the 18-25 range are gamers. Young people in general are more likely to be gamers — 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. (Reality Bytes: Eight Myths about Video Games Debunked Henry Jenkins MIT Professor)

As connected senior Americans, (some 17 million people) we spend an average of 44 minutes a day “surfing the net.” Do the math! This is almost 750 million minutes each day! We use the Internet to access health information, our banking, to make our travel plans and to check out current events and weather. Because of these factors, we are more educated about our health (drug interactions, symptoms of illness and finding a doctor) and more proactive about our lives in general. We make friends, conduct business, shop and belong to reader’s groups. 75% of us attended college, 70% are partnered or married (compared to 42% and 48% of those seniors not online, respectively) and we have twice the annual income over non-users.

What’s the message? Besides the obvious – the Internet is here to stay – as seniors we are on the cutting edge of what is happening today. We were there when it began, and we are here to reap the benefits of its usefulness. We can make both our cyber-connections and our senior status work for us. We can volunteer, donate money or food-by-clicks, we can support breast cancer research, genealogy and so much more. Use your 44 minutes a day of surfing the net wisely, and craft a senior life for yourself that will be the envy of the callow youth coming along behind.