AARP Hearing Center
The AARP Tech Trends survey examines how adults 50-plus use technology in their daily lives, offering a detailed view of how digital tools support independence, well-being and connection. It serves as a key resource for understanding ownership, purchasing and digital behaviors of older Americans, highlighting both the benefits they gain from technology, such as support for aging in place, improved health management and greater social connectivity, and the barriers they face, including data privacy concerns, digital literacy and a lack of age-inclusive design.
About the AARP Tech Trends Series
Technology has become central to how people manage work, home life, finances, health, relationships and personal interests. For adults age 50-plus, tech adoption continues to rise as they look for products and services that keep them connected and empowered. This series tracks these evolving behaviors over time, highlighting major shifts in digital engagement, device ownership, smart home and home safety technology, health and wellness tools and the rapid growth in awareness and use of artificial intelligence. It also surfaces persistent gaps that limit adoption for some.
The findings offer practical insights for industries, policymakers and communities, helping guide product development, digital service design and support systems that make technology more usable and inclusive for adults age 50-plus.
The survey has been conducted annually since 2016, with data available for each year except 2017, and will run again in 2026. It is administered in English and Spanish and weighted to national demographic benchmarks for U.S. adults using the Current Population Survey. While the reporting focuses on adults age 50-plus, since 2021 the survey has also included adults ages 18-49.
All AARP Tech Trends Surveys, 2016-Present
For more information, please contact Brittne Kakulla at bkakulla@aarp.org. For media inquiries, please contact External Relations at media@aarp.org.