There’s a new digital divide opening on the internet, one between young and older folks and how they perceive the web. That’s according to a new survey from Burst Media, the ad network based in Burlington, Mass. It finds that roughly three quarters of the younger ones, those ages 18-34, see the internet as a place where content is focused on people their age. The older ones, on the other hand, those ages 45 and over, see very little aimed at their demographic, in terms of content, design and even advertising. Only one in three think web sites are focusing on them, and that shrinks to one in five for the over-55 set. Perhaps most strikingly, 78 percent of those 45 and older say they do not think online advertising is targeted at them. Instead, they say, it’s focusing on younger audiences. That’s despite the fact that the older population has an increasing presence online. Nearly two-thirds of respondents ages 55 and over said they are visiting more web sites per week than at this time last year. Jarvis Coffin, chief executive officer of Burst Media, talks to Media Life about how advertisers can address this disconnect, what it means for media buyers, and how web sites can change.

 
What did you find most interesting or most surprising about this survey?
 
Well, there are a couple of things I take away from it.
 
Clearly, there is a portion of the internet audience that’s over age 45 that doesn’t think internet content is being built for them or relevant to their interests.

My father spent a lot of time on the internet and I don’t know if he’d agree, but we certainly have pitched this thing as hip, cool, etc., and there’s sort of an unintended conspiracy, if you will, to make the internet about a new generation of media user.
 
All generations use the internet. Older demos also think their lives would be disrupted if they had to do without it for a week.
 
Another takeaway is that we’re always delighted to see people visited more web sites this year than they did last year. And most people, including young people, think the advertising could be more relevant and targeted. And when you think about all the advertising that’s sprayed across the internet, we need to sort of pay attention to the fact that on balance most people don’t see it as “about them.”
 
Users are interested in context. The older people are saying we need more stuff relevant to us.

Why do so many people over age 45 feel that the internet is not focusing content toward them?
 
I think a lot of it is how we socialize the internet.

We fell into this trap. We’ve positioned this internet thing as youthful, energetic, hip, sort of outrageous. And as a media community and industry, we’re overlooking the fact that there are more people looking in than the 18-24 segment that hangs out on YouTube and MySpace and Facebook.

Internet users are spread across all demos and we should start thinking about it as a broad-based media platform.
 
The reality may be that people who are over 55 struggle to find content that talks to them about their issues, whether it’s health issues, financial issues, retirement issues, etc.

Has this number declined? Why?
 
We have not looked at this before to the best of my recollection, but I think we will again, because it will be interesting and important to start tracking this at least on an annual basis. Ideally we’ll start to see the over-55 segment, boomers--that’s a huge demographic--we want to see signs of progress there.
 

Three-quarters also say they don't think online ads are targeted toward them. Is this potentially problematic for advertisers? What can they do to overcome it?
 
Well, in my personal view, I think it is a bit of a wake-up call. For all the targeting we do online, it’s still not getting through.

My view is that part of what makes advertising effective is relevancy, and I think it’s improved and enhanced by context. So we need to worry about where our messages are running as well as who they’re running for. Once they are, we’ll start to see the numbers change.
 

Could this feeling that web sites are not targeting older surfers ever lead them to decrease their time on the web or even abandon it?
 
Well, I don’t think you’re seeing that.

The research also confirmed users are going to more web sites. So they’re not abandoning it.

One of the things I keep getting asked is, “So, is the internet going to eventually consolidate?” The answer is no. There’s more people online spending more time on more web sites, and they’re still feeling there isn’t enough for them there.

That to me means there’s room for content creation going forward, and a demand for it. Users aren’t going anywhere.

What can sites do to become more user-friendly for those over age 45?
 
Be specific. If you are a web publisher, especially if you’re over 45, there’s a marketplace that’s waiting for you. Create news they can use, need and want.

For any market segment, I think the internet, if you want to be successful, resonating or connecting with that audience means talking to that audience specifically. Don’t try to be all things to all people. It’s hard to get people to agree you’re talking to them if you’re providing content for such a broad demographic.
 

A majority of those 55 and older say they are visiting more web sites now than they did a year ago. Is this simply reflecting greater growth across all demographics, or is the web really becoming more integrated in over-55s' lives?
 
Why shouldn’t it be both? I think the answer is ‘yes.’ [Laughs.] I think the internet is more ubiquitous, for all the reason we’ve documented over the years. More computers, more high speed, etc., so I think we’re seeing all of that contribute to the fact that people are visiting more web sites. And older demos are pointing out, hey, we could use some more stuff here instead of the drivel my kids look at.
 

What were the biggest differences you found in this survey between older and younger users?
 
The biggest difference was among 18-34-year-olds. Three-quarters thought, yes, the internet is about me and for me. And it was not even close when you go to the over-55 segment, who said in less than 25 percent of cases the content was relevant to me. That’s the biggest difference.
 
On a smaller level, some of the younger people said they thought the advertising was relevant, but still not all that many did.
 
When you think about offline media, TV and things like that, older age groups are more into news and information and, interestingly, they’d like more of it online.