Since our launch in January 2022, the AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP has been on a mission to improve people’s lives as they age, specifically through the use of innovative and continually evolving technology. As we’ve grown by leaps and bounds in the last three years, we’ve always been keen to discover the actual impact that AgeTech is having in the real world — and to pass those insights on to our AgeTech Collaborative participants.
AARP recently released 2025 Tech Trends and Adults 50-Plus, its annual report that contains a wealth of helpful insights into the changing habits and attitudes of older adults with regard to technology — including general consumer tech (such as smartphones) and tech that more clearly falls under AgeTech (such as services designed to help caregivers). This year’s findings are encouraging indeed: Overall, interest in and engagement with technology among those who are 50-plus is as strong as ever, and in many cases growing. Not surprisingly, however, barriers to adoption remain.
You can find all the details in the full report, but here are some highlights to whet your appetite!
Interest and use of smart home tech has increased, perhaps corresponding to high levels of interest in aging in place. Interest in other types of technology varies.
In 2024, 61% of older adults either use or are interested in using home security devices such as doorbell cameras and window alarms, up from 54% in 2023. Use and interest in more general smart home devices, such as Wi-Fi extenders and smart appliances, has also risen, but not as sharply.
Brain health tech is popular among older adults, with nearly half either using it or interested in using it. On the other hand, mobility tech — aside from popular ride-share services — generates little interest.
Caregivers are taking advantage of just some of the technology specifically designed to assist them.
One in four people who are 50-plus are also caregivers, and this cohort shows relatively low adoption rates for devices and services specifically designed to help caregivers with their responsibilities. The most popular such devices are GPS-enabled location detectors, with 49% of these caregivers either using it or expressing interest in using it. These are followed by emergency response systems (48% using or interested in using) and motion sensors (40%).
The data shows that 50-plus adults who are caregivers also tend to use a variety of digital services not specifically designed with caregiving in mind — the same services they use in their everyday lives. Food delivery services tops the list, with 48% using them in connection with their caregiving duties. Other top services in this regard include communication (41%), shopping (40%) and digital calendars (40%). Notably, many caregivers use these services more in their everyday lives, versus as part of their caregiver role.
Tech spending has remained strong in 2024 among adults age 50-plus.
On average, older adults spent $753 on tech last year, which represents a slight decrease from 2023; nevertheless, in sum this represents an estimated nearly $91 billion in spend value. The most commonly purchased items were general consumer tech items, such as smartphones and related accessories, smart TVs, Bluetooth listening devices and laptop computers.
The data shows that 67% of people who are 50-plus made a tech purchase in the last year. At the same time, 40% of older adults postponed making at least one tech purchase due to financial reasons, particularly the purchase of a laptop or smartphone.
Older adults continue to keep pace with younger consumers in their ownership of primary technology devices.
More older adults are purchasing a wider variety of primary tech devices. Right down the line, from smartphones to smart TVs and home assistants, people who are 50-plus match their younger counterparts in levels of ownership of the most popular devices. There were two notable exceptions: Wearable devices are more popular with younger adults, but — interestingly — tablets were more popular with older adults. More than half also own laptop and desktop computers.
On average, older adults own seven tech devices, with smartphones and smart TVs topping the list. Ownership across the most popular devices increased significantly in 2024, and a whopping 99% of older adults own at least one device, with the top devices being used daily.
Digital services have become indispensable for adults age 50-plus in managing their homes, finances, social lives and interacting with the world around them.
And people 50-plus use a wide range of digital services: On average, older adults use more than 13 such services, with more than 75% regularly using devices for browsing the internet, communicating, shopping, navigation and checking the weather. For general purposes such as shopping, users are more likely to bounce between using an app and a website. However, for more focused services such as caregiving or educational resources, users show a clear preference for interfacing with a website.
Older adults show a distinct preference for free services. Although they are just as willing as younger adults to pay for streaming movies and entertainment specifically, they are only about half as likely to pay for services such as music, fitness classes, and food delivery. In addition, 60% are not willing to pay a fee for any app they currently use for free.
Two in three older adults view technology positively, seeing it as enriching their lives and making both daily tasks and aging easier.
Of particular note, older adults agree almost equally with their younger counterparts that technology shapes the way people build and maintain relationships. Of course, social media plays a key role here, providing entertainment, connection and personal enrichment. Among practically all the most popular social media sites, usage for older adults in 2024 either held steady or increased from 2023.
The awareness and use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has grown rapidly since its release to the public in November 2022.
In fact, among people 50-plus, use of generative AI has doubled over the past year, from 9% in 2023 to 18% in 2024, and 30% of older adults are excited about the potential of AI to make their lives easier and more enjoyable. However, interest in generative AI among older adults is only about half of that of younger generations. Actual experience with generative AI is a critical factor in understanding the divergent opinions: Among those who have used generative AI, 55% of older adults think it can be helpful or very helpful for improving daily life, but this figure plummets to just 11% among those who have not had direct experience with the technology.
Even starker, nearly two-thirds of people who have used generative AI plan to use it again in the near future, while just 11% of people who have not used it plan to give it a try. The most common uses of generative AI for people over 50 are research (such as looking into unfamiliar topics, finding the best online deals and researching healthcare), job assistance (such as composing business letters and generating marketing materials) and idea inspiration (such as creating writing prompts and finding activities for toddlers).
Despite growing interest in new technology, adults age 50-plus remain likely to wait and see before they will engage with new technology.
The percentage of people who self-identify as “early adopters” of technology decreases as age increases; on average, just 11% of older adults snatch up tech as soon as it becomes available. Nevertheless, 67% are willing to try the same tech once it has established a track record of success. A similar percentage of adults over 50, 64%, believe they have the skills necessary to take full advantage of being online. Notably, this figure is significantly higher for people 50–59 years old (71%) and decreases linearly with age, with just 45% of people over age 80 feeling the same way.
The majority of older adults (59%) continue to believe that technology is not designed with their age group in mind, but — notably — this figure is significantly lower than the 64% who held a similar belief in 2023.
Among people over 50, 29% say concerns about privacy and identity theft is the chief barrier to adopting new technology. A product or service’s ease of use is the next most-cited barrier (20%), followed by concerns over getting adequate support (19%) and the financial cost (16%).
Finally, older adults love the idea of using a tech support service, but 65% believe it should either be free or be part of the cost of acquisition, with just 36% saying they are willing to pay for such support.
AgeTech Collaborative participants can get even more insights into the 2025 Tech Trends report in this on-demand recording of a recent virtual event with Dr. Brittne Kakulla, AARP senior consumer insights manager, and author of the report. And be sure to check out the full report itself!
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