Senior citizens learn how to use smartphones during a free lesson organized by the Seoul Metropolitan government in this file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) — As the process of digitalization builds up speed amidst the spread of contactless services in the pandemic era, more people in their 50s and 60s are using online banking and shopping platforms.
The Ministry of Science and ICT conducted a survey of 25,144 households and their 60,305 members over three years of age, of which 93 percent use the internet at home, up by 1.1 percentage points from the previous year.
Compared with five years ago, internet usage among children between 3 and 9 years of age (92 percent) jumped by 8.1 percentage points, users in their 60s (94.5 percent) grew by 12 percentage points and those in their 70s (49.7 percent) grew by a whopping 17.9 percentage points.
Teenagers used the internet for education and gaming. Those in their 20s and 30s used it for cloud services and financial trade.
Among those in their 40s and 50s, online shopping and banking services were most common while those over 60 years of age used it for watching videos and accessing social media.
More people had also bought food products (57.1 percent), lifestyle and kitchen products (49.1 percent), and furniture and interior design products (24.2 percent) online.
At 69.8 percent, more than two-thirds of those with smartwatches and other wearable devices were using their health features, up by 12.2 percentage points from the previous year.
Sorted by age, the access rate of online shopping malls by people in their 60s (41.2 percent) grew by 9.8 percentage points and the usage of online banking services by those in their 50s (84.9 percent) jumped by 5.8 percentage points, leading the overall growth of internet access throughout all age groups.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
