Plusnet Reveals Older Generations are More Tech Savvy Than the Youth

SHEFFIELD, England, December 13, 2011 -

A Plusnet study* has revealed that despite 59%** of UK households owning internet enabled PCs, over a quarter (27%) are not familiar with terms such as bandwidth, Wi-Fi, cursor, router and download.

Dispelling the myth that it is youngsters who are most tech savvy of all, the research by the business broadband provider found it was those over 55 who scored well with jargon-busting, as 72% claim they understand all of the terms perfectly. Exactly 39% of 16-24 year olds did not have a clue about these expressions, which is much more than the national statistic of 27%.

Over a fifth (22%) of those aged over 55 have taken lessons on how to use the internet, compared to only 8% of 16-24 year olds, showing that it is not just the older generations who should make use of such classes. Despite widespread belief that the older generations aren’t too confident with technology, when it comes to the internet, they are on par or even more self-assured than those in the younger age brackets.

Sending emails and shopping online are the stronger areas for those aged over 55, with 96% and 91% claiming confidence with these activities, compared to 94% and 83% amongst 16-24 year olds respectively. Online bingo however is something that the younger generations are big on, much more so than the older generations, with 50% of those aged 16-24 confidently playing online compared to only 24% of those over 55.

Talking about the survey, Jamie Ford, CEO of Plusnet said: “It just goes to show that despite the growing online literacy in the UK, people are still unsure of certain key terms and uses for the Internet.

An interesting finding from our research is the increased knowledge of the over 55’s who have perhaps had to go out independently and source online learning through support sessions in their local community.”

“Although youngsters have greater exposure to the internet through their communication habits and means of education, it is the older segment of the audience who are making the effort to get to grips with the net, and therefore learning more about how it all works. Perhaps this Christmas it will be the grandparents’ turn to show the grandkids how to use their new gaming console or e-book.”

Notes to editors:

* The survey was conducted by Opinion Matters between 11th and 15th November 2011, and included 1,096 respondents

**Ofcom, June 2010

About Plusnet:

Plusnet offers cheap broadband and phone packages, including Plusnet Value and Plusnet Extra broadband, both available to purchase with home phone, fibre optic broadband and a prioritisation service, Plusnet Pro.

Plusnet Value offers speeds of up to 20Mb with a monthly usage limit of 10GB. Plusnet Extra offers speeds of up to 20Mb with a monthly usage limit of 60GB and free McAfee security.

Despite usage limits on its home broadband products, Plusnet offers unlimited downloads between midnight and 8am every day.  This does not count towards a customer’s monthly usage allowance.

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