More than $281.7 billion worth of digital health is already in motion as global demand keeps accelerating. Yet for people aged 65 and over, the story is split between everyday tech use and very real barriers, from privacy fears that stop internet adoption to accessibility design choices that can slow healthcare tasks by 41 percent. Let’s look at the figures behind how older adults connect, communicate, and stay safe online.
Key Takeaways
- 73% of adults aged 65+ used the internet in 2019
- 47% of adults aged 65+ use a tablet device (2021)
- 38% of adults aged 65+ say they use voice assistants (2021)
- 72.8 million US adults used telehealth at least once in 2021 (overall population estimate)
- 34% of surveyed older adults (65+) reported using a health app (2022)
- 8.4% annual growth in the global smart home market through 2030 (CAGR, 2023-2030 estimate)
- 29% of adults aged 65+ in the US do not use the internet because they are concerned about privacy/security (2019-2020, survey evidence)
- 68% of older adults in the UK who experienced scamming reported the scam involved impersonation (2022)
- 33% of internet users aged 65+ experienced an online security incident in 2022 (EU survey, 2022)
- $1.1 billion in losses from non-payment/non-delivery scams in the US (2023)
- 52% of internet users aged 65+ in the UK worry about identity theft online (2023)
- 21% of older adults (65+) in the US do not think they would know if they were targeted by a phishing email (2021)
- Accessibility failures in healthcare digital services can delay care; usability testing showed tasks took 41% longer for users with age-related impairments (study, 2020)
- 4% drop in conversion when button size decreased below recommended touch targets in mobile usability experiments (2018)
- Contrast ratio improvements increased readability by 15-25% in older adults in lab testing of grayscale/contrast conditions (study, 2020)
Most people aged 65 plus use the internet, but privacy, security, and accessibility still shape digital health use.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption8 stats
01
73% of adults aged 65+ used the internet in 2019https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/
02
47% of adults aged 65+ use a tablet device (2021)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/mobile-technology-and-home-broadband/
03
38% of adults aged 65+ say they use voice assistants (2021)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/20/voice-assistant-use/
04
68% of older adults (65+) use the internet at home (2021)https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/217085/Ofcom-Adults-Media-Use-and-Attitudes-Report-2021.pdf
05
25% of UK adults aged 65+ have ever purchased online (2023)https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/288091/Adults-media-use-and-attitudes-report-2023.pdf
06
49% of US adults aged 65+ said they use the internet for accessing health informationhttps://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/11/15/older-adults-and-technology-use/
07
71% of adults aged 65+ in the US reported using a smartphonehttps://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/04/22/mobile-fact-sheet/
08
26% of US adults aged 65+ reported using voice assistantshttps://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/01/voice-assistant-use/
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In the user adoption category, older adults are clearly embracing everyday tech with 73% of those aged 65+ using the internet in 2019 and 71% using smartphones in the US, yet higher value behaviors like purchasing online remain less common with only 25% of UK adults 65+ having ever bought online.
02 · Category
Industry Trends5 stats
01
72.8 million US adults used telehealth at least once in 2021 (overall population estimate)https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db478.pdf
02
34% of surveyed older adults (65+) reported using a health app (2022)https://www.pewresearch.org/science-and-technology/2022/09/07/older-adults-and-technology/
03
8.4% annual growth in the global smart home market through 2030 (CAGR, 2023-2030 estimate)https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/smart-home-market
04
US adults aged 65+ accounted for 16% of all online health searches (2019)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/06/17/online-health-searching-and-consulting/
05
US adults aged 65+ accounted for 18% of ecommerce users (2021)https://www.census.gov/retail/index.html
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
The Industry Trends signal is clear as 34% of surveyed adults aged 65 and over used a health app in 2022 while older Americans make up 16% of online health searches in 2019 and 18% of ecommerce users in 2021, showing that adoption by seniors is already shaping both digital health and consumer technology demand.
03 · Category
Barriers & Equity3 stats
01
29% of adults aged 65+ in the US do not use the internet because they are concerned about privacy/security (2019-2020, survey evidence)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/09/30/what-internet-users-like-and-dislike-about-the-internet/
02
68% of older adults in the UK who experienced scamming reported the scam involved impersonation (2022)https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/sites/default/files/documents/ActionFraud_Online_Fraud_Annual_Report_2022.pdf
03
33% of internet users aged 65+ experienced an online security incident in 2022 (EU survey, 2022)https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2024/online-security-attitudes-and-experiences
Interpretation
Barriers & Equity Interpretation
Across barriers and equity, privacy and safety concerns are a major limiter for older people, with 29% of US adults aged 65+ not using the internet due to privacy or security worries and 33% reporting an online security incident in 2022, alongside UK data showing 68% of scam cases involved impersonation.
04 · Category
Security & Trust4 stats
01
$1.1 billion in losses from non-payment/non-delivery scams in the US (2023)https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2023_IC3Report.pdf
02
52% of internet users aged 65+ in the UK worry about identity theft online (2023)https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/280093/adults-media-use-and-attitudes-2023-security.pdf
03
21% of older adults (65+) in the US do not think they would know if they were targeted by a phishing email (2021)https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/2021-12/fcc-cybersecurity-citizen-trust-survey.pdf
04
92% of consumers aged 65+ in the US say they would share sensitive information only if they trust the organization (2022)https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/09/01/trust-and-safety-online/
Interpretation
Security & Trust Interpretation
For the Security & Trust category, older adults show a clear trust gap, with 92% of US consumers aged 65+ saying they will share sensitive information only if they trust the organization, while 52% in the UK worry about identity theft and 21% in the US would not realize if they were targeted by phishing.
More related reading
05 · Category
Performance & Usability9 stats
01
Accessibility failures in healthcare digital services can delay care; usability testing showed tasks took 41% longer for users with age-related impairments (study, 2020)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7399115/
02
4% drop in conversion when button size decreased below recommended touch targets in mobile usability experiments (2018)https://www.nngroup.com/articles/touch-target-size/
03
Contrast ratio improvements increased readability by 15-25% in older adults in lab testing of grayscale/contrast conditions (study, 2020)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014067362030081X
04
Touchscreen users aged 65+ had 28% higher error rates on small interactive elements than younger adults (2018)https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3274187.3274445
05
Time-to-first-action was reduced by 18% when interfaces used larger fonts and spacing in an older-adult accessibility experiment (2019)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10447311003760234
06
WCAG 2.1 recommends font scaling to 200%; compliant designs achieved 96% task success among older participants in an evaluation (2019)https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/resize-text.html
07
In a study of smart speaker commands, older adults achieved 92% command accuracy when prompts were formatted as short imperative phrases (2020)https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9345340
08
In an eHealth usability evaluation, 67% of older adults rated the system as 'easy' after accessibility fixes (2021)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8506848/
09
60% of telehealth app users reported improved ability to manage chronic conditions after adoption (2021 survey)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2774738
Interpretation
Performance & Usability Interpretation
For the Performance & Usability category, small accessibility changes consistently improve how efficiently older users act and make fewer mistakes, shown by an 18% faster time-to-first-action with larger fonts and spacing and a 15 to 25% readability boost from better contrast.
06 · Category
Market Size4 stats
01
Global digital health market size reached $281.7 billion in 2023https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/digital-health-market
02
The global telehealth market is forecast to reach $559.4 billion by 2030 (from $45.9 billion in 2022)https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/telehealth-market
03
The global smart home market was valued at $79.4 billion in 2023https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-home-market-104323037.html
04
The global wearable medical devices market reached $9.1 billion in 2022 and is forecast to reach $37.0 billion by 2030https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/wearable-medical-devices-market-103689
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
From a Market Size perspective, elder-focused technology is scaling rapidly as digital health hit $281.7 billion in 2023 and telehealth is projected to jump to $559.4 billion by 2030 from $45.9 billion in 2022.
07 · Category
Barriers & Outcomes1 stats
01
Older adults experienced higher click/tap error rates: 28% higher errors on small interactive elements compared with younger users (2018)https://doi.org/10.1145/3170427.3188520
Interpretation
Barriers & Outcomes Interpretation
In the Barriers & Outcomes category, older adults faced a clear usability barrier with 28% higher click and tap error rates on small interactive elements than younger users in 2018.
08 · Category
Security & Risk1 stats
01
In 2023, phishing was the most common cybercrime method reported to UK authorities, accounting for 30% of action-on-cyber-related reports (2023 UK dataset)https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/2024-cyber-crime-uk-trends
Interpretation
Security & Risk Interpretation
In 2023, phishing made up 30% of action-on-cyber-related reports in the UK, underscoring that for elderly people, the biggest Security and Risk threat is still widespread phishing activity.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Helena Kowalczyk. (2026, February 13). Elderly And Technology Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/elderly-and-technology-statistics
MLA
Helena Kowalczyk. "Elderly And Technology Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/elderly-and-technology-statistics.
Chicago
Helena Kowalczyk. 2026. "Elderly And Technology Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/elderly-and-technology-statistics.
Sources & references
35 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)