Digital media and seniors – our times illuminated by media logs

People currently in their 50s and 60s are of a generation for whom TV has been the main form of entertainment since childhood, and still use TV to a higher rate than other age groups, so TV commercials are considered the most effective means of communication with them.
However, is it really safe to rely on just TV when disseminating information to seniors?
In addition, is it really safe to just use digital media as the sole communication tool with young people?

In this article, we analyzed data from INTAGE’s single source panel i-SSP, which collects media usage logs, with a focus on seniors to explore their state of digital media usage.

The increasing penetration of smartphone usage among seniors

Before examining the sorts of media and content seniors are exposed to, let’s first check their smartphone usage rates.

Fig.1 summarizes the smartphone usage results in the “Device Usage Rate Survey” questionnaire survey conducted by INTAGE once yearly by chronological trends from 2017. It is tabulated with those using a device once a month or more defined as users.
Usage rates are up among all age groups, and remain extremely high among young people. However, the group to focus upon are seniors, who are rapidly rising at the bottom of the graph. Those in their 60s in particular increased +31 points versus 2017. It is thus apparent that smartphones are becoming a more familiar presence due in part to the promulgation of digital media driven by covid.

Fig.1

Let’s next examine hours of usage, which will illuminate the specific nature of device usage. Fig.2 summarizes how hours smartphones are in use have shifted, based on smartphone operation logs obtained by i-SSP.

Fig.2

Akin to usage rates, hours of usage have also been gradually increasing, with a sizable lift in 2019, across all age groups. Teens in particular spend a lot of time using smartphones, with the results indicating that in 2023, they used smartphones for approximately 5.7 hours a day.
While seniors appear to use smartphones for fewer hours than other age groups, in 2023 they actually used them for approximately 190 minutes – around 3 hours a day. This is an increase of approximately one hour from 2017, and considering the rapid rise in usage rates among them, is indicative of further increases in hours of usage in future as well.

The apps seniors use, and videos they watch

Let’s next examine what seniors are doing on smartphones.
Fig.3 summarizes the sorts of apps they use on their smartphones.

Fig.3

The top app is the search app Google Chrome, with this followed by the communication tool LINE, and video service YouTube at third place.
In actuality, on generating these hours of usage for other age groups, the top-ranking apps are all virtually the same, with categories like search apps, video services, communication tools, and social media ranking highest. There are clearly no sizable differences between age groups in the apps they use on smartphones.

So, what sorts of channels do seniors watch on the video app “YouTube”, which ranks third on viewing hours? Fig.4 summarizes the channels often viewed by iOS monitor panelists confirmable on i-SSP by age group.

Fig.4

News-related channels are included in the rankings for all age groups. On observation of age group-specific characteristics, entertainment-related channels such as movies and variety are relatively common among teens and those in their 20s, with similar tendencies observed among those in their 30s and 40s as well. Virtually all the channels in older people in their 50s and 60s’ rankings are news-related, indicating there are differences in the video content they respectively watch.

Since seniors are often exposed to information/TV gossip shows and news programs in their TV exposure (Fig.5) as well as watching news-related content on YouTube via smartphone, a key objective of seniors’ media usage can be surmised to be watching the news. From this perspective, smartphone devices and digital media, which provide highly up-to-date information, can be said to meet seniors’ needs.

Fig.5

Seniors are looking for “useful information” online

Let’s next examine seniors’ digital usage from an outlook perspective.
According to our “Fixed Point Questionnaire Survey on Media Usage” conducted once a year with i-SSP survey monitor panelists, seniors are characterized by “To search for information want to know” being a reason for using YouTube to many (Fig.6).
Their needs and their actual state of usage, such as their extended use of news content and search apps like Google, clearly corresponded on observation of their log data. Different reasons for usage are observed between age groups, with many teens to those in their 40s giving “To enjoy as entertainment” and “To kill time” as reasons.

Fig.6

On a question on YouTube-related attitudes and behavior as well, a conspicuous number of seniors gave “Useful” and “Has information only available here”. Many teens to those in their 40s conversely responded “Puts me in a fun mood” and “Familiar”, indicating differences in impact depending on the content they are exposed to exist (Fig.7).

Fig.7

As is consistent with the trends in log data, seniors use YouTube for not only the entertainment, fun, and soothing purposes young people seek, but for information useful in life, and to search for information they want to know.

However, the younger the respondent, the more they gave the attribute “Reliable”, and the older, the less they gave it.
To rephrase this, if YouTube, the de facto dominant digital media for seniors could be improved in terms of the impression it has of being “Reliable”, seniors may go on to use YouTube even more.
With the YouTube channels seniors view as well, the fact videos from renowned companies like ANN and NHK reach a large number of users is indicative of the fact they place emphasis on being from a guaranteed source and the safety of information. In this sense, “YouTube x news content” presents benefits and potential as an advertising deployment point targeting seniors.

What seniors want from digital media

Upon confirming how seniors use smartphones and digital media in their media usage logs, both their log data and outlook data indicate they want “useful information” they need in life, and more specifically “information of use in their daily lives”. In this way, placing ads for products/services that are within the context of the information being disseminated should ensure they have greater effect when targeting seniors who place an emphasis on reliability.

Due in part to senior media usage originally being closely associated with media with a strong news reporting bent such as radio and newspapers, they are also observed to have a strong affinity with news content and immediacy in digital media in their log data.
Seniors have recently been pressed to make inroads into the digital sphere due to the need to make my number card applications and vaccination reservations, and the fact they have latched on to the convenience and need for YouTube and search browsers may be influencing their increasing usage rates and hours of use.

The use of digital media by seniors is expected to increase rapidly in future as well. In this article, we have analyzed i-SSP usage logs to identify senior needs including useful information and news, as well as bottlenecks to their digital media usage (concern about reliability). By successfully ascertaining these sorts of needs and targeting seniors with content that can alleviate these bottlenecks, we may be able to capture the sweet spot in this expanding market.

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[i-SSP® (INTAGE Single Source Panel ®)]
Based on INTAGE’s SCI (nationwide individual consumer panel survey), this data is newly collected from the same respondents regarding their website viewing and TV viewing from PCs, smartphones, and tablet devices. This data clarifies the relationship between consumer behavior and information exposure as well as ad efficacy through analysis of their usage trends and exposure rates to TVs, PCs, smartphones, and tablet devices along with the shopping data gathered from these very same respondents. In addition, a separate questionnaire survey can be conducted with respondents to probe and analyze them on their outlooks, values, and state of purchase of durable goods and services.
* Single Source Panel® is the registered trademark of INTAGE Inc.

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