Are You Too Young for Kindle?

Michael Cader, blogging in Publishers Lunch, says that "The Kindle is probably the only major consumer electronic device aimed at older buyers." He cites a survey conducted by Bowker: "The device is favored particularly by people aged 50 to 64, and women like it disproportionately more than men, while the iPhone is heavily preferred by those in the 35 to 49 bracket," Cader writes.

In one respect, these data should not come as a surprise; generally speaking, adults simply buy more books than the young, period - 60 percent of book purchases are by older persons. But because we associate e-books and reading devices with youthful innovation, the numbers bear some attention.

The party most interested in these demographics is Amazon itself, creator of the Kindle. Amazon asked visitors to its Kindle Community page to disclose their age, and as of this writing 1652 responded. That's a huge number of responders and we're not sure why the question elicited so much action. By way of comparison, the second most responded to question garnered only 20 replies! Nor are we sure why respondents felt compelled to relate their life stories in response to the simple request for "Average Kindle Owners Age" ("59 3/4 years old here...no arthritis here yet. Probably will start suffering from it when I turn 60.") I guess seniors talking about their age like to add a flourish or two..

In any event, though we didn't sift methodically through every response or tally the average, it was clear from a random clickthrough of responses that the majority of those answering the question were in their fifties and sixties.

On the trail of these absorbing factoids, I randomly selected and debriefed a 25-year-old male about his, and his friends', attitudes towards Kindle. Interestingly, this interviewee works for a publisher and uses the device in his professional capacity.

Me: Do you own a Kindle personally?

Him: No.

Me: Because?

Him: The expense. I can't afford one. [It currently lists for $359.00 on Amazon.com] My friends can't either.

Me: Do you read books on another electronic device?

Him: No, call me old fashioned, but I like printed books. And they're also economical compared to the Kindle. If you read eight or ten books a year, buying them is cheap compared to buying a Kindle. Some of us either borrow books from the library or from each other, so it doesn't make sense to buy a Kindle.

Me: But you spend money on music.

Him: I would rather spend my money on music. I can listen to music while I'm doing something else. But reading a book is a dedicated activity. You can't do something else while you read a book.

Me. You call yourself old-fashioned. Doesn't that strike you as ironic, that a 25-year-old is more old-fashioned than a Kindle-reading fifty or sixty year old man or woman?

Him. [Shrugs] I guess so.

Are you too young for Kindle? The answer is right under our noses - for kids, it's simply too expensive.

Though Kindle is sitting high atop the e-reader heap, a competitor producing a $99.00 device could topple the Goliath, or at least give it a good healthy fight.

RC