Women and older people more likely to adopt ereaders

[Barcey]

I'm not really surprised by this but it's good to see data supporting what I've been observing. Older users are adopting readers at a faster rate then younger users. Women are adopting the technology faster then men. (Now if women would only go after men with ereaders )

Mobile connected device adoption picked up among women and older consumers in the second quarter of 2011, according to new findings from market research firm Nielsen. In the second quarter last year, tablets and eReaders were owned largely by those under the age of 35. The market has shifted significantly over the past year however, and consumers 35 and older accounted for more than half of tablet and eReader owners last quarter. 54% of tablet owners in the second quarter were over the age of 35, up from 38% in the second quarter of 2010, and eReader ownership among consumers 35 and older jumped to 65% last quarter from 55% in the June quarter a year prior. Where gender is concerned, eReader adoption among women ballooned to 61% in the second quarter of this year, up from 46% in the same quarter last year. Smartphone adoption inched up from 47% in the second quarter of 2010 to 50% last quarter, and tablet adoption jumped from 39% to 43% over the same period.

http://www.bgr.com/2011/08/25/nielse...nch+Automat%29

[xg4bx]

I'm 33, I really don't want to be approaching the "older" category this quickly lol.

I saw that the average age of those who play video games is now 37. Maybe its simply a matter of more disposable income.

But one has to ask, what are kids these days doing? They're not reading, not buying technology, not playing video games, so what exactly are they doing lol? Rolling doobies and sitting on Facebook?

[anamardoll]

Seems to me that I read somewhere that this upcoming generation may be the first generation in awhile in which the kids are expected to be poorer than the last generation, due to the high unemployment and rising costs of secondary education? I could be remembering this factoid wrong.

In which case, Farmville becomes quite the entertainment bargain. If Mom and Dad are already providing the computer + internet, the game is free -- much cheaper than the latest $60 XBOX game. If Mom and Dad have Amazon Prime, you can stream quite a few movies and TV shows to the computer free of charge. And so forth.

Now we just need to convince Mom and Dad to provide an eReader and a card to the Free Library of Philadelphia.

[OtterBooks]

As the technology settles in, the demographic of people who use ereaders is starting to become similar to the demographic of people who read. Ok then.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

I'm 33, I really don't want to be approaching the "older" category this quickly lol.

I saw that the average age of those who play video games is now 37. Maybe its simply a matter of more disposable income.

But one has to ask, what are kids these days doing? They're not reading, not buying technology, not playing video games, so what exactly are they doing lol? Rolling doobies and sitting on Facebook?

The average age being 37 doesn't necessarily mean that kids aren't playing video games as much; it just means that adults are also playing video games.

[apbschmitz]

Speaking as the father of a 25-year old and a 19-year old, I don't really see either of them buying a device particularly for reading. They have enough trouble keeping track of their cellphones. I don't really see them dragging around a tablet either. I think all these things are the province of, as my kids say, the olds, who drag around half their lives in a purse or briefcase. I'm not buying a smartphone for the 19-year old, and the 25-year old can't afford it, so for the moment they're not integrating their online experiences on their phones. But I suppose that day will come, and then maybe they'll read books that way. But I don't think anyone is going to be selling them an e-reader, at least not in the current conception of these things.

[Ditchleyportrait]

21 when i bought kindle dx graphite
a couple years back when i was 19 when the prs impossible to read touch screen came out i bought that and returned.
i am also male.
also literary genius, though

[Phogg]

My kids read, but then we got rid of television when my oldest was five. I never had one before I was married anyway, and they are time sinks.

[OneandonlyDoc]

I bought my first dedicated e-reader at 28. My sister, at 19, just got her first e-reader.

Neither of my parents have one, but my grandmother received a Kindle from my aunt as a Mother's Day gift, so I'm thinking the data could possibly bear this out.

Part of the issue for younger demographics picking up dedicated e-reading devices is, I think, that many are more likely to save up a bit more money and get full-on tablets such as the Tab or the iPad rather than invest the smaller amount in an e-reader.

Then again, some of us are smart and just want to read a book.

[ilovejedd]

Most folks who buy dedicated e-ink readers get them because they're most like paper. The common complaint about LCD-based readers is that it gives them headaches, eyestrain, etc.

The younger generation grew up watching TV and sitting in front of their computers. Reading on LCD screens instead of e-ink is not an issue for them so they're more likely to grab a multi-purpose LCD tablet than a dedicated e-ink reader.

[jbcohen]

Funny all of the people that I run into seems to point to the fact that technology tends to get more primitive as you go back generations. My folks are afraid of technology and barely put up with a new PC in their home. My grand mother thought that a PC was the work of the devil. I am a network administrator in the real world so outdated computers are not an option, my home network is on the cutting edge of 21st centry technology and I am constantly looking for ways to push the tech envelope further towards 22nd century technology. I have little use for late 20th century tech, its all ben junked to make way for more advanced items. My son (hopefully will will understand me).

[OneandonlyDoc]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Most folks who buy dedicated e-ink readers get them because they're most like paper. The common complaint about LCD-based readers is that it gives them headaches, eyestrain, etc.

The younger generation grew up watching TV and sitting in front of their computers. Reading on LCD screens instead of e-ink is not an issue for them so they're more likely to grab a multi-purpose LCD tablet than a dedicated e-ink reader.

I don't know....I've spent the last fifteen years in front of a computer screen and my whole life in front of a television, and reading on an LCD still gives me a headache about half the time...so I'm not sure that's quite it.

[wannabee]

Some Kids are lazy. Some kids just text, or today they are probably sexting. (cameras) Why read when you can just look. The world is now comic books without even having to read the thought bubbles.
Those that do read, read R U cmn 2 dnr 2nite? Or similar.

Whoops, I'll give the soapbox to someone else now.

[Joybells]

I bought my first eReader at 66 - (single female). Now I can download all the old books I can't get in hardcopy at the local bookstore - HG Wells, Kipling, Forrester. It will also save on shelfspace in my little flat.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Ditchleyportrait

21 when i bought kindle dx graphite
a couple years back when i was 19 when the prs impossible to read touch screen came out i bought that and returned.
i am also male.
also literary genius, though

A "literary genius" who can't work the shift key?
(Well, Chaucer, Shakespeare, ect... had no shift keys, what's your excuse?)

Luck;
Ken