CYBERSPACE—Adult content producers and distributors looking to capitalize on the latest tech gadgets might want to consider targeting older rather than younger porn consumers. That’s because older consumers spend more than their younger counterparts on new technology.
“In fact,” reported Advertising Age, “spending on technology is one area where boomers are ahead of their younger counterparts. The 46- to 64-year-old group now spends more money on technology than any other demographic, according to Forrester Research's annual benchmark tech study. That includes monthly telecom fees, gadget and device spending, and overall online purchases. They averaged around $650 spent in online shopping vs. Gen X ($581) and Gen Y ($429) over a three-month period.”
And, as recent surveys have shown, those in the upper echelons of age—meaning people older than 40—are not only buying technology but are actually using it, too. Surveys conducted by Pew Research over the last few years show a dramatic increase in varied usage adoption by older people.
Among 50- to 64-year-olds, according to Advertising Age, “social-media usage grew by 88 percent from April 2009 to May 2010, up from 25 percent to 47 percent of all users in that age group, according to Pew Internet. And one in five of them now use social media every day, up from one in 10 last year.”
There apparently is an age limit for adoption of tech, though.
“Forrester's research … found that among seniors ages 66 and older only 67 percent owned cell phones. However, 84 percent of young boomers ages 45 to 54 and 80 percent of older boomers ages 55 to 64 owned cell phones,” said the article.
Interestingly, the boomer and millennial generations have a lot in common.
“Grandparent Marketing Group research notes that … both number around 80 million and both grew up in some of the U.S.'s most prosperous eras ('50s/'60s and the '90s).
“Both groups overwhelmingly use email (91 percent of boomers/94 percent of millennials), search engines (88 percent/89 percent), research health information (78 percent /85 percent), get news (74 percent /83 percent) and check out online ratings (30 percent /31 percent).
Of course, older people are interested in sex, too, just like younger people, and if the results of the recently released National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior are any indication, they enjoy it almost as frequently and with as much variety as young people. Good news for people in and out of the sex trade.
