The elderly are different than you and me, and it is not just because they are over 65. The habits of older Americans are, in many cases, much different from younger Americans.

Older Americans tend to have more savings. Many have passed the point when they have to pay for children and mortgages. They have to manage those savings as they move toward retirement. That makes them heavy consumers of financial services s
uch as investment advice.

Some of the most obvious products and services bought in large numbers by people over 65 are easy to pick out. Older people tend to like large and comfortable cars. They are also heavy users of medications for age-related conditions.

However, some of the habits of people over 65 are not so intuitive. The elderly are consumers of social media in much larger numbers than many people would guess. On the other hand, they are not the dominant demographic for other activities where they used to be in the majority. The railings of cruise ships are still populated by travelers over 65, but they are joined by young adults with children who have flocked to cruises because the industry has made the experience more family-friendly.

Every year, the average age of Americans gets older. The huge Baby Boomer population has moved in great numbers to the 65 year and older bracket. The generations behind it are not as large, and that means that America has begun to gray. It will have to be left to Washington to decide how these citizens will be supported as the US deficit grows and the number of people who can be taxed or pay into the Social Security fund shrink.

As we set those larger problems aside, here are the products and services that target the elderly – although in many cases they are not terribly different from the interests of younger generations. Why should people over 65 worry about Social Security when they can spend their time on Facebook?

1. Cable News Networks
With the advent of the Internet, younger people have turned their backs on traditional television so, the average age of viewers has increased for many channels. For television news,  most viewers are in fact seniors.  According to recent Nielsen data, the average age of a Fox News viewer is 65.  Similarly, 47% of CNN prime time viewers are 65 or older, as are 36% of MSNBC prime time viewers.

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2. Social Media
While the conventional wisdom is that social media is a tool for the young, retirees are joining Web sites like Facebook and Twitter in record numbers. According to a Pew Internet study conducted between 2009 and 2010, the number of people 65 and older using social media doubled, while the eighteen to twenty-nine year old share has only increased 13%. Although younger generations still take up most of the market, this may only mean that the retired crowd are late adopters, and not that they will stay on the sidelines. Independent sites tailored for retirees, like eons.com and AARP’s hugely successful online presence, enjoy great popularity.

 

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3. Casinos
Conventional wisdom holds that seniors take up more than their fair share of casino visits.  In reality, they rank about average with the other adult age groups. Twenty-eight percent of those 66 and older visit casinos, compared with twenty-nine percent of those between 51-65 and twenty-four percent for those between 36 and 50. Given the fact that a majority live on a fixed income, it should be surprising that the percentage is as high as it is.

 

Also Read: Apple’s iPod: It Shatters Like Glass

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4. Four-Door Full-Size American Sedans
Large four-door sedans with room for six and all the comfort of a barkalounger have been the premium name plates of America’s top car companies for decades. Their manufacturers prize plush interior and leg room over gas mileage. These cars are driven primarily by people above the retirement age. Three quarters of the customer base of the Lincoln Town Car, which was recently discontinued, are 65 years and older, according to J.D. Power and Associates.