Silver Surfer (network culture)

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Proportion of people between the ages of 55 and 74 who use the Internet at least once a week in a European comparison for 2007 (source: Eurostat)

Silver Surfer is a term used for Internet users over the age of 50. This term encompasses both older workers, referred to in German-speaking marketing jargon as best agers , and retired active seniors . The name is an allusion to the often silver-gray hair of older users.

Origin of name

At the end of the 1990s, silver surfers were perceived as a new target group for Internet marketing with high purchasing power . 77.2 percent of the population aged 14 and over in Germany are online (2012: 75.9%). This increases the number of Internet users moderately from 53.4 million to 54.2 million people. The generation of "silver surfers" (50 years and over) is solely responsible for growth. The biggest “leap” from offline to online in 2013 was made by people over 70: from 20.1 percent (2012) to 30.4 percent (2013). Among the 50 to 59 year olds, the Internet penetration increased by 6 percentage points to 82.7 percent, among the over 60 year olds by 3 percentage points to 42.9 percent.

Distinguishing features

In addition to classic functions such as e-mail exchange, the interests of many silver surfers lie in areas such as health, lifestyle and travel. Silver surfers are disproportionately involved in sales in online shopping, which is due to the many years of experience in the mail order business. Above all, they trust well-known retailers on the Internet, so-called multi-channel retailers . Many seniors also exchange ideas on the Internet.

According to market research, the limited activity in Web 2.0 networks is primarily due to two factors: On the one hand, silver surfers have special expectations of data protection and security on the Internet. Social networks - especially in Germany - not only meet with reluctance, but also with a high proportion of people who categorically reject their use. The lack of trust in the handling of the data provided plays an important role.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ARD / ZDF online study 2013: Mobile Internet use is increasing rapidly - the boom in end devices leads to a high increase in daily usage time ( memento from March 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Heise.de: More and more seniors are exchanging ideas on the Internet
  3. ↑ INTERNET WORLD Business: USA leads the way in social media. Retrieved on August 19, 2020 (German).
  4. ↑ https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Deutsche-bilden-EU-Schlusslicht-bei-der-Nutzen-sozialer-Medien-1771531.html
  5. ↑ EMNID survey: The German social networks - the fear of data misuse is great. Retrieved August 19, 2020 .