Topic: Over-55s lap up internet phonecalls

[Clive]

WebUser
September 29, 2005
Quentin Reade

The over-55s are the trailblazers when it comes to using internet telephony, a new study shows.

The study, commissioned by VoIP company Skype, found that the over-55s are the most likely age group to keep in touch via the internet and are the most aware of free calling over the internet.

According to the survey:
48 per cent of Britons are already aware that they can use their computers to make free calls over the internet.

The over-55s are the most likely age group to prefer to keep in touch via the Internet (51 per cent), compared with 36 per cent of 16?24 year-olds.

The 16?24 year-old age group is the most likely to prefer to keep in touch by text message (48 per cent), compared with six per cent of over-55s.

On average, Britons are now spending between £50 and £100 per month on communications.

Over half (53 per cent) of 16?24 year-olds admit they have no idea what their communications bill will be each month, while over one quarter (26 per cent) say they get a shock each month from their bill and feel they are spending too much.

The survey also reveals that the over-55s believe that had the Internet been around in their youth it would have helped them keep a long-distance romance going.

Almost 80 per cent of this age group believe that modern communications would have helped them save a failed relationship.