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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

The Usage of Media content by males over the age of fifty.

Jamair Johnson (620076865)
The University of the West Indies

20 year old second year Journalism student

Phone number: 2795512

Email Address: Johnsonshaquille799@yahoo.com

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

The Usage of Media content by males over the age of fifty (50).

This research paper is about how often, how much time spent, which medium and devices used
and for what exactly do men age fifty and over use or access media content. Do men age fifty
and over uses media content? If yes why do men in this age group access media content. This is
interesting because it will give the idea of how prevalent the media is among males ages fifty and
over and what exactly do they use it for. This topic is worth studying because the entire world
just like this society is now mostly technologically savvy and the knowledge of what men in this
age range are able to use and what they are interested in is crucial in better development.
A conceptual definition, according to the website ASK.com is the underlying understanding of
something that is necessary to attain before understanding how it is used or applied. In science, it
is necessary to understand the subject of research prior to conducting effective research.
The conceptual definition of Media is Communication channels through which news,
entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages are disseminated. Media includes every
broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards,
direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet.
The conceptual definition of a device is a machine designed for a purpose. The conceptual
definition of Content is substantive information or creative material viewed in contrast to its
actual or potential manner of presentation.

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

Literature Review

One study done by the American Press Institute (2015), states that While younger Americans
are interested in a wide variety of topics at levels similar to older generations, the device they
turn to and the way they discover the news is more clearly influenced by age. Older adults are
more likely to rely on television, radio, and print media for their news than are those in the
youngest adult cohort, who are more likely to use mobile devices. Older generations are more
likely to get news from television. Fully 89 percent of those age 40-59 and even more (95
percent) of those 60 plus used television to get news in the past week compared with younger
adults age 18-29 (76 percent) and 30-39 (79 percent).Radio is most popular among adults age 4059; 74 percent say they used it to get news in the past week, significantly more than the 53
percent of 18-29 year olds, 59 percent of 30-39 year olds, and 64 percent of adults age 60 and
over who say they used radio to get news in the past week. The Methodology used was study
methodology (survey).The survey was conducted from January 9 through February 16, 2014.
This random-digit-dial (RDD) survey was conducted via telephone. This previous study was very
effective because All interviews were completed by professional interviewers who were carefully
trained on the specific survey for this study and also because the sample population was among
several different ethnic groups. This research was well done as the sample design aimed to
ensure the sample representativeness of the population in a time- and cost- efficient manner.
According to another research done by Pew Research Centre (2010), Social networking use
among internet users ages 50 and older has nearly doubled from 22% to 42% over the past year.
While social media use has grown dramatically across all age groups, older users have been
especially enthusiastic over the past year about embracing new networking tools. Although

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

email continues to be the primary way that older users maintain contact with friends, families
and colleagues, many users now rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily
communications sharing links, photos, videos, news and status updates with a growing network
of contacts. Half (47%) of internet users ages 50-64 and one in four (26%) users age 65 and
older now use social networking sites. Half of online adults ages 50-64 and one in four wired
seniors now count themselves among the Facebooking and LinkedIn masses. Thats up from
just 25% of online adults ages 50-64 and 13% of those ages 65 and older who reported social
networking use one year ago in a survey conducted in April 2009. By comparison, social
networking sites have gained a much larger foothold in the lives of older Americans over time.
One in five (20%) adults ages 50-64 say they use social networking sites on a typical day, up
from 10% one year ago. Likewise, 13% of online adults ages 65 and older log on to social
networking sites, compared with just 4% who did so in 2009. The Methodology used was
telephone interviews. This previous study is not efficient because there can be question wording
and practical difficulties in conducting telephone surveys may introduce some error or bias into
the findings of opinion polls. The question is why this researcher did only used telephone
interviews knowing its limitations.

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

Methodology

The Method that was used in this study was the Interview, a type of survey but done with the
intention of collection in-depth information from respondents through relatively long, face-toface or one-on-one settings involving an interviewer who becomes the instrument of data
collection used to obtain detailed information from small samples. The strengths of this research
method are: it provides a wealth of data more accurate on sensitive issues, and is appropriate for
certain hard to reach groups. The weaknesses includes: generalizability sometimes becomes a
problem especially sensitive to interviewer bias and problems may arise in data analysis. This
method is more appropriate because the researcher had the intention of collection in-depth
information from respondents through face-to-face settings involving an interviewer who will
become the instrument of data collection.
The sample of this research was selected using a random sample technique. Random men age
fifty and over were gently approached and were asked a total of five open ended questions. The
total size of the sample was four. The data collecting instrument used for this study was a new
instrument.
The construct of media usage among men age fifty and over was operationally measured by
coding the interviewee behaviors based on the media content.

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Results

Of the four interviewees randomly chosen by the interviewer, one was the age of fifty (50), one
was the age of fifty one (51), one was the age of fifty six (56) and one was the age of sixty (60).
In response to question 1: How do you describe yourself as a media user (low or high)? Explain
your answer. Three out of the four interviewee considered themselves as a High media user.
The fifty year old interviewee stated high because I use a lot of forms of media, I use the
telephone, I use the internet far as it concerns like your normal laptop to do work and for
recreation, I watch a lot of TV, I read the paper when I get the chance to. The fifty six year old
stated I would say high, cause Im an avid viewer of the television. I watch television a lot, so I
wouldnt say that is low. Radio is a part of it but not so much. I watch television right through the
day, only time I dont is in my sleep, u know, bed time. The fifty one year old stated You can
call me a high user. I pretty much check my emails, check my WhatsApp, access documents
online, access websites online, occasionally listen to YouTube, and do research on URLs for
different websites. The sixty (60) year old stated Low media user because I dont use media
very often. In response to question 2: What determines how often you use media? Explain your
answer, the fifty year old stated the availability of time. Because of the time consuming nature
of my work, most of the important things in life are time consuming so to use even media, it
depends on the amount of time you have. The fifty six year old stated News, sports and Cable
News Network like CNN and also like Discovery channel. I want to know what is going on
around the world and things are always happening so I try to be as much in tuned. The fifty one
year old stated Since Im a Software Programmer, I usually download updates, patches, access
email because I work in a company that communicates through email often. I hardly listen to

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

radio. I access news items online on Gleaner.com, Observer.com, Huffington and other media
houses like CNN and MSN. The sixty year old stated Special events and time of day, at work I
usually use the radio for background music and I browse the Internet sometimes. In response to
question 3: What factors determine your preference for your source (online or traditional) of
media content? Explain your answer. the fifty year old stated that ease of access and the
knowledge of competency level as it concerns accessing the various devices, if you take for
instance, the paper, theres no problem once you can read you can access the paper. Once you can
hear, you can access the television and these things. Things like the laptop and the smart phone
you have to au fait with the technologies and the methods of accessing these things. So, these
things, they have an impact on which technology you use and how you use it.
The fifty six year old stated that you see the online thing; I dont have an online phone. I dont
have any internet. But if I get an online phone, a different interview that. If I had a computer I
would use the internet though. The fifty one year old stated that how relevant it is to me as a
Jamaican. So, I listen to Jamaican news. As a Jamaican I listen to international news because it is
not only about what affects me as a Jamaican. Also, what else is happening in other countries and
other countries where I have an interest in? I have interest in what happens in Palestine. I have
interest in what happens in Greece, Syria and Israel. Our news agencies may not carry enough
international news which is why I prefer to listen to MSN, CNN and BBC and other news
stations abroad, online. And the sixty year old stated that Because the Internet, it comes
straight to you, all you have to do is read it, click and read it. You dont have to go very far to get
it. Internet is quicker and easier, so I choose the Internet most of the time.

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Discussion
The age range of the four respondents was between the ages of fifty and sixty. Three out of four
had considered themselves as High Media Users. These three respondents were ages fifty, fifty
one and fifty six. The only respondent who considered himself as a Low Media User was the
sixty (60) year old. This could be due to the three high media users are younger than the sixty
year old.
The fifty year old interviewee considered himself as a high media user because he use a lot of
forms of media, including the telephone, he used the internet far as it concerns like your normal
laptop to do work and for recreation, he also watches a lot of TV and he read the paper whenever
he get the chance to. This is in agreement to the American Press Institute (2015) who states that
Older adults are more likely to rely on television, radio, and print media for their news than are
those in the youngest adult cohort, who are more likely to use mobile devices. Older generations
are more likely to get news from television.
The fifty six year old stated that he is a high media user because he is an avid viewer of the
television. Meaning he watches television a lot, also radio is a part of it but not so much. He
states he watches television right through the day. This is also in agreement to the American
Press Institute (2015) previous study which states that Older adults are more likely to rely on
television, radio, and print media for their news than are those in the youngest adult cohort, who
are more likely to use mobile devices. Older generations are more likely to get news from
television.
The fifty one year old stated that he is a high user because he checks his emails, check his
WhatsApp, access documents online, access websites online, and occasionally listen to YouTube,

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

and do research on URLs for different websites. This is in strong agreement with Pew Research
Centre (2010) which states that Social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older
has nearly doubled from 22% to 42% over the past year. While social media use has grown
dramatically across all age groups, older users have been especially enthusiastic over the past
year about embracing new networking tools. This could be so because he may be from a very
technological home, or he lives with his children or grandchildren who use these technologies
frequently.
The fifty year old stated the availability of time determines how often he uses the media.
Because of the time consuming nature of his work, and most of the important things in life are
time consuming so to use even media, it depends on the amount of time you have. It can be said
that time is a crucial part of how men fifty years and older uses the media.
The sixty year old stated that because the internet it comes straight to you, all you have to do is
read it, click and read it. You dont have to go very far to get it. Internet is quicker and easier, so
he chose the Internet most of the time. This is supported by The Pew Research Centre (2010)
which states that half (47%) of internet users ages 50-64 and one in four (26%) users age 65 and
older now use social networking sites.

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

Conclusion.
In Conclusion, men fifty years and over does access media very frequently and for various
reasons including entertainment and news.
The limitation of this study is that the small sample size may not have been enough for
representing the entire population of men fifty years and over.
For future research, a longer research with the incorporation of two or more methodologies and a
bigger sample size will aid in better results.

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50 YEARS AND OLDER MALES AND THEIR MEDIA HABITS

References

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(n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2015, from http://www.ask.com
Madden, M. (2010, August 27). Older Adults and Social Media. Retrieved November 18, 2015,
from http://www.pewinternet.org
Social and Demographic differences in new habits and attitudes. (2014, March 17
). Retrieved November 18, 2015, from http://www.americanpressinstitute.org