A Google survey on search engine trends reveals that, on average, the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1946 and 1964) spend about three hours a day surfing the internet.
A PulsePoints blog post on the Cambridge Realty Capital Companies corporate website notes that Google’s 2014: A Year In Search survey reports that most of the roughly 23 hours per week Boomers spend online are spent catching up on the news, shopping online, reading emails, utilizing social networks and watching videos.
“But about 75 percent of those surveyed also went online to check out senior housing options using search engines like Google,” said Cambridge Chairman Jeffrey A. Davis.
He says the Google survey described differences in search priorities depending on whether the Boomer is searching for themselves or researching on behalf of someone else, like a spouse or family member.
According to the survey, when a Boomer is trying to inform themselves, they tend to search for independent living communities, or 55+ active communities. Typically, these individuals tend to be more independent and require less in the way of assisted living. Usually, they are searching for a strong community with an active and social lifestyle, pet policies and transportation options, and they are more concerned about things like room size and the quality of food.
On the other hand, when Boomers search online for others, the results shift. When searching for a loved one, they tend to check out assisted living communities or skilled nursing. And they’re more interested in learning about the types of care and medical services the community offers, its proximity to hospitals and its staff to resident ratio.
As a general rule, when a Boomer is searching for someone else, that person tends to require more care, Mr. Davis said.
The PulsePoints blog post also quoted a survey conducted by A Place for Mom, a senior care referral service. It revealed that “assisted living’ is a much more commonly searched term than “senior living” or “nursing homes,” and further showed that the searches for skilled nursing, senior housing and memory care have all increased exponentially over the past 10 years.
In 2013, the top two search terms were “assisted living” and “nursing homes.” Today the top search terms are “assisted living” and “senior living,” the survey revealed.
