The stereotype of seniors helplessly fumbling with their phone and other devices may be increasingly inaccurate, according to a report from Cox Mobile.
The report, “Connecting the Digital Dots: Online Habits and Safety Concerns Across Three Generations,” found that nearly all seniors 65 years of age or older whose input was used in the survey considered themselves somewhat to extremely digitally literate.
Respondents use connected devices for online shopping, money management, social media, streaming, and gaming. Sixty-two percent say they feel confident in the ability to identify and avoid scams and safety risks.
“Today’s seniors are rewriting the digital playbook,” Cox Chief Residential Officer Colleen Langner said in a press release.
“They’re not just logging on, they’re leaning in. From managing money and streaming content to navigating cybersecurity risks with growing confidence, this generation is proving that digital literacy has no age limit. Their cautious approach to emerging tech like AI shows they’re not just connected, but they’re critically engaged.”
The report found that 41% of seniors spent five or more hours online per day and 61% were able to minimize risk on their own.
Other findings from the report:
- 70% of seniors surveyed create strong passwords
- 63% of seniors surveyed install security software
- 60% of seniors surveyed use multi-factor authentication
- 51% of seniors surveyed remove unsafe apps or channels
- 43% of seniors surveyed report use safety features for apps and devices
- More than 50% of seniors surveyed are open to online safety workshops
Seniors have shied away from using generative artificial intelligence (AI) due to safety concerns (42%) and lack of transparency (21%), the report found. Forty-nine percent said they don’t know how to use generative AI and don’t care to learn.
Fifty-five percent of participants’ children who participated in the survey are confident of their parents’ ability to avoid online scams and one-third discuss online safety with their parents several times a week or daily.
The seniors appear to have it right about online safety. Verizon Business’s 2025 Mobile Security Index released last month found that 85% of organizations report an increase in attacks on mobile devices and that 63% experienced downtime lasting more than one day. This was a 16% jump from last year. The survey found that half of the respondents lost data and 36% “faced cyber insurance penalties.”
The 2025 Comcast Business Threat Report looked at the overall security landscape. It found that as of October, there had been 34.6 million cybersecurity threats. The breakdown: There were 19.5 billion resource development events; 9.7 billion drive-by compromise events; 4.7 billion phishing events attempting to compromise credentials or deliver malware; and 44,000 DDoS attacks attempting to test or overwhelm defenses.
