But how else do you describe this demographic group, the fastest-growing sector of the online community?
This week's cover feature (see p21) concentrates on the over-50s, with the proviso that there are, obviously, some big differences between a 51-year-old in full employment and a 70-year-old in retirement. Either way, beneath the nomenclature debate there are huge implications for digital media. According to the Government's National Statistics department, within five years there will be more pensioners in Britain than children - or under-16s - for the first time ever. And by 2026 there will be two million more old-timers than youngsters.
Older users are hesitant when it comes to computers. Like most of us, their first forays into technology are marked by simple steps, but once they are used to the medium, they're as enthusiastic as kids discovering a new video game.
My parents are prime examples. They've embraced digital with gusto, but in their own idiosyncratic way. He's a genealogist who didn't use a computer until he was 65, but will still give you chapter and verse on why the Government's census site was doomed to fail. She's a retired shop-worker and has a mobile, but never switches it on. And no matter how often I've explained that it's not necessary, they both insist on having their own ISP, while using the same PC and telephone line. Dad uses Freeserve since it came with his computer. Mum's with AOL because my sister, who lives in America, uses it, and she thinks she can't email her daughter without using the same ISP and browser.
This may say more about my family than it does about the elderly online, but I suspect a lot of older users share this eccentricity. I'm sure many don't understand the internet, even though they use it every day. But, as the feature and this week's Vital Statistics (p9) show, the important thing is the potential size of this audience, its affluence and spare time.
The online 50-plus group, however you describe it, is growing larger, gaining increasing technical knowledge as each generation passes. Just don't count on those within it interacting in exactly the way you expect them to.
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