Marketing VOX reported today on a new study from the Pew Research Center on internet usage by generation. The report reveals some insights into the specific behaviors of internet users by age group, from blogging to playing games. There's some valuable information to be gleaned and I encourage you to check out the full report here.
Some key takeaways I left with:
- Internet usage by 70-75 year olds has increased from 26% in 2005 to 45% today.
- Only 73% of teens say they use email now, as opposed to 89% in 2004.
- Teen internet users' favorite online activity is game playing (78%), significantly higher than any other age group.
- Almost no one is visiting virtual worlds. The highest concentration is teens, at only 10%.
- Generation X lead online shopping habits, with 80% buying products online, compared with 71% of users 18-32. Only 28% of online teens buy products online.
- Downloading video is gaining across all age groups, most noticeably among users age 73+, now 13% up from 1% in 2005.
Check out the chart below for an overview of each generation.
Does your generation's analysis accurately represent how you use the internet as an individual?
View Comments so far ↓
1 Michael // Mar 3, 2009 at 8:00 pm
A lot of this makes sense. E-mail is the simplest and easiest web communication tool for older folks to understand, which they probably use to keep in touch with their children and grandchildren. Among the younger generations, e-mail is losing ground to social networks. Younger people are more socially active in general as well as online. Generation X has some spending money and an understanding of the internet, while shopping is more of a social “brick & mortar” activity for younger people.
2 Michael // Mar 4, 2009 at 1:00 am
A lot of this makes sense. E-mail is the simplest and easiest web communication tool for older folks to understand, which they probably use to keep in touch with their children and grandchildren. Among the younger generations, e-mail is losing ground to social networks. Younger people are more socially active in general as well as online. Generation X has some spending money and an understanding of the internet, while shopping is more of a social “brick & mortar” activity for younger people.
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