Never underestimate older users

It took just one 79 year old widower called Peter to smash the myth that new trends on the web – like user generated content – are exclusive to teens.

Countless surveys tell us that older audiences spend time online managing their finances, keeping in touch with family or tracking down old friends. But don’t we all?

It was refreshing to get new insight into this audience with the debut of a video blog (vlog) about war, peace and ‘a misspent youth’ by geriatric1927, a pensioner whose vlogs are some of YouTube.com’s most widely subscribed video feeds.

Media coverage focused on the novelty of an aged vlogger, but in reality, the story simply reinforces what countless surveys and research papers have been telling us for the last few years: website owners must drop their obsession with younger audiences and develop services which meet the needs of older audiences - or suffer the consequences.

Older users to drive economy

Data from the Office of National Statistics suggests that by 2031, the number of people aged 80 and over will rise from 2.2 million to 4.9 million. With little or no debt, the over 50s are set to drive the UK economy over the next 30 years.

Given the impending shift in power from young users to silver surfers, sites which fail to cater for older audiences could find themselves exposed to adverse publicity.

Showing how comfortable older users are with web communication tools - email, IM and blogs - Peter’s vlog provided commentary about his time as a youth in the armed forces.

But what if the vlog had taken a critical tone to war? How much more coverage would the story had got if he’d decided to tackle government policy he disagreed with? Or the business practices of a brand, which he felt were unethical?

Older audiences may, for example, be unable to take part in an anti-poverty march in person, but what’s to stop these upcoming ‘content producers’ directing their energies towards web campaigns?

Time and cash affluent, these users could transform online activism by producing semi-professional material which draws attention to pensioner poverty or age discrimination.

Politically active pensioners

It’s not known whether we’ll see ‘million user marches’ upon chat rooms and blogs anytime soon. But it’s only a matter of time before the ‘Pensioners take to the web’ stories move from the ‘and finally’ slot to the front page.

Indeed, the Aged Uprising may be a long way off, but site owners would do well to consider the needs of older audiences now in a bid to avoid any bad publicity in future.

At the very least site owners need to involve older users in research and testing throughout the design and development phases, to ensure you understand and meet their growing needs online.

We all know navigation, colour schemes, editorial and site images play a part in the construct of an individual’s perception of a brand or organisation. So why risk alienating your older users with that ‘catch all’ copy on your site which may only appeal to youth audiences? Are audiences of all ages represented in the images on your site?

Engaging with older audiences will be crucial over coming years, so why not take steps to make sure your site meets everyone’s needs, no matter what their age? Otherwise, you may get a mention by Peter and his increasingly influential group of online friends.