77 Percent of Senior Citizens Shop Online

More than 77% of online Americans ages 65+ say they shop online, the highest percentage among any generational group.  A study by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) found that older Americans - including both Seniors and the younger Baby Boomers - have overwhelmingly made the Internet an integral part of their everyday lives and often rival younger generations in online activities.

Seniors Online in Droves
94% of online seniors  regularly use email, 71% go to the Internet to look up health and medical information, 70% read news, and 59% use the Internet to manage their finances and banking. They also turn online for gaming with approximately half (47%) of online Matures regularly play free online games.

Read the full study...

Gen Y, Net Gen, Gen X, Young Boomers - Generations Explained

The Howe and Strauss book, Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 defined the terms used to describe the generations but the Pew Research Center suggests that the two decades of Baby Boomers should be divided into separate generational groups. Some of these differences are illustrated in the chart.

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project reports in Generational Differences in Online Activities, that "Generation Y, or young adults generally 18-32 years old who grew up in the Information Age, have been dubbed the ‘Net Generation.’ But, while these 'digital natives' may be savvier with their gadgets and more keen on new uses of technology, their elders in Generation X, the Baby Boomers and older generations tend to dominate Internet use in other areas."

Since 2005, broadband access has doubled for many age groups and tripled in oldest groups. So watch for the older generations to start to catchup to their younger counterparts.

Americans’ use of the Internet has nearly doubled in 5 years

48% of American adults report that they use the Internet more than one hour per day, compared with 26% in 2002, according to results from a recent Gallup Poll.

Who are the most frequent users? People with advanced degrees, those who make more than than $75K per year, and those under age 30. 60% in each group report that they go online more than one hour per day. No surprises since these are people most likely to use the Internet at work.

But people making less than $30,000 per year and adults 65+ posted gains greater than the national average.

Old and Young Use Internet Differently

Americans who are part of Generation X are most likely to bank, shop and look for health information online, Baby Boomers are as likely as Generation Y to make travel reservations online, and members of the Silent Generation are proficient with email and are gaining ground online, according to surveys from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

The Generations Online in 2009 (pdf)  research, which was conducted between 2006 and 2008, specifically examines internet use by generation, and discovers big differences in online behaviors by age. Though 74% of all US adults are online, younger users ages 12-28 have embraced online applications that enable communicative, creative, and social uses, older users are more likely to engage in online activities that require some capital, such as travel reservations and online banking.

It also finds that though more than half of America’s online population is between ages 18-44,  larger percentages of older Americans are going online and doing more things there than they have in the past. The biggest increase in internet use since 2005 is in the 70-75 year-old age group. While just over one-fourth (26%) of 70-75 year olds were online in 2005, 45% of that age group is currently online.

Email Remains Most Popular
Instant messaging, social networking, and blogging have gained ground as communications tools, but email remains the most popular online activity, particularly among older internet users, the survey found.

Three quarters (74%) of internet users ages 64+ send and receive email, making email the most popular online activity for this age group. At the same time, email has lost some ground among teens. Some 89% of teens said they used email in 2004, but only 73% say they do now.

Read the rest of the study...

Demographics of Internet Users

Who's Online? Visit this frequently updated table showing the current demographics of Internet users. For example, 70% of adult women and 71% of men use the Internet.

See the chart...

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, February 15 – March 7, 2007 Tracking Survey.