Centenarians Offer Long-Life Secrets
http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Politics/4-10-28SeniorVote.htm
“Seniors are Conservative Voters, Increasingly Larger Share
of Vote”
http://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/814/voting-as-habit/
Voting as Habit
http://patchworknation.org/content/why-voters-ages-mattered-so-much-in-latest-elections/
Why Voters Age Mattered So Much in Latest Election
Few would dispute the fact that people experience physical transformations as they grow older, with balding possibly being the most obvious and “annoying” if not the most serious of them. And by the same token, it is often assumed, almost without question, that people undergo a political shift as they age, becoming more conservative?
But does this commonly held assumption havevany real basis in fact. Well, it is hard to say what words like “conservative” even mean and everybody follows their own path. But according to research results, older Americans seem to be providing their own answer to this quandary.
Nearly 50 per cent of those who responded to a survey indicated that they have become more conservative as they aged, while the comparable statistic for those 18 – 24 was less than 30 per cent.
And no matter how they might align themselves politically, elderly Americans vote in higher proportions than do their younger counterparts, a fact which grants them a outsized impact on the political process. This pattern has been the norm for decades.
The percentage of persons 65 years and older who voted in 2002 was 61% while the comparable statistic across all age groupings was only 42.3%. In 1974, these percentages were 51/4% and 44.7%, respectively.
It is hard to know what factors stand responsible for seniors showing up at the polls in such consistently high numbers. Possibly, they have accumulated assets over the years and want to elect candidates they believe with protect their financial security. Or, as some researchers have claimed, voting might simply be a well-established habit for them.
The fact that older Americans self-identify themselves as being conservative (politically) in disproportionate numbers does not, however,
mean that they are clinging to “the old ways” in all aspects of their
life. Rather, research has indicted that they are utilizing technologies, such as cell phones, often thought to be the domain of a younger generation in unexpected numbers. And even centenarians are making these innovations a part of their life.
Older people certainly are using technology. The difference is that seniors are more likely to use the technology that is useful, not just fashionable. If they have a use for it, many seniors have I phones, others recognize that they only need a simple phone and get something like a Tracfone SVC, made for seniors