Baby Boomers have increasing adopted the technologies of computer tablets and e-readers.
Research by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows tablet (iPad, for example) ownership increased from 8 to 15 percent among Americans age 50 to 64 between December of last year and January 2012.
E-reader ownership (Kindle Fire and Nook, for example) increased from 11 to 19 percent among those same aged Baby Boomers during the same period.
Among Americans of all age groups, the number of tablet owners nearly doubled from 10 to 19 percent and the number of e-reader owners jumped 18 to 29 percent.
“These findings are striking because they come after a period from mid-2011 into the autumn in which there was not much change in the ownership of tablets and e-book readers. However, as the holiday gift-giving season approached, the marketplace for both devices dramatically shifted,” said Pew.
“In the tablet world, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet were introduced at considerably cheaper prices than other tablets. In the e-book reader world, some versions of the Kindle and Nook and other readers fell well below $100.”
It’s apparent that Americans across the board focused on tablets and e-readers as part of their holiday shopping.
The people most likely to purchase a device were generally well-educated and had a household income of more than $75,000.
While Baby Boomers held their own percentage wise in the purchase of the devices, it was the under 50 crowd that was most responsible for the surge.
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