The fine researchers at Pew Internet and American Life have released their findings on what differently-aged internet users are doing online. “There are still notable differences by generation in online activities, but the dominance of the Millennial generation that we documented in our first “Generations” report in 2009 has slipped in many activities.” This is good news for marketers trying to reach older customers online who are quickly embracing (and even surpassing their younger cohorts) online life.
While the numeric descriptions of the different generations (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Millenials, etc) varies among consultants and researches slightly, it is important to know that Pew breaks down their demographic labels as such (apparently leaving out the Gen Y distinguisher all together, but breaking the Boomers into sub groups):
- Millienials – Born 1977-1992 – Ages 18-33
- Generation X – Born 1965-1976 – Ages 34-45
- Boomers – Born 1955-1964 (Younger) 1946-1954 (Older) – Ages 46-64
- Silent – Born 1937-1945 – Ages 65-73
- G.I. - Born 1936 or before – Ages 74+
Source: Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, April 29-May 30 2010 Tracking Survey. N=2,252 adults aged 18 and older
Milliennials
Millennials, or those aged 18-33 as Pew defines them, remain more likely to access the internet wirelessly with a laptop or mobile phone. In addition, they still clearly surpass their elders online when it comes to:
- Use of social networking sites
- Use of instant messaging
- Using online classifieds
- Listening to music
- Playing online games
- Reading blogs
- Participating in virtual worlds
Only half as many online teens work on their own blog as did in 2006, and Millennial generation adults ages 18-33 have also seen a modest decline—a development that may be related to the quickly-growing popularity of social network sites.
Gen X
Gen X, or those aged 34-45, and older cohorts are more likely than Millennials to engage in several online activities, including visiting government websites and getting financial information online.
Even in areas that are still dominated by Millennials, older generations are making notable gains. Some of the areas that have seen the fastest rate of growth in recent years include older adults’ participation in communication and entertainment activities online, especially in using social network sites such as Facebook. Among the major trends in online activities:
- While the youngest generations are still significantly more likely to use social network sites, the fastest growth has come from internet users 74 and older: social network site usage for this oldest cohort has quadrupled since 2008, from 4% to 16%.
- The percentage of all adult internet users who watch video online jumped 14 points in the past two years, from 52% in May 2008 to 66% in May 2010.
- 51% of all online adults listen to music online, compared with 34% the last time this question was asked, in June 2004. While Millennials used to be by far the most avid listeners, Gen Xers and Younger Boomers are catching up.
- As of May 2010, 53% of online adults have used a classified ads website such as Craigstlist, up from 32% in September 2007.
Blogging’s popularity increased among most older generations, and as a result the rate of blogging for all online adults rose slightly overall from 11% in late 2008 to 14% in 2010. Yet while the act formally known as blogging seems to have peaked, internet users are doing blog-like things in other online spaces as they post updates about their lives, musings about the world, jokes, and links on social networking sites and micro-blogging sites such as Twitter.
All Ages
While the youngest and oldest cohorts may differ, certain key internet activities are becoming more uniformly popular across all age groups. These include:
- Search engine use
- Seeking health information
- Getting news
- Buying products
- Making travel reservations or purchases
- Doing online banking
- Looking for religious information
- Rating products, services, or people
- Making online charitable donations
- Downloading podcasts
Generations Online 2010: Summary. The above chart shows the popularity of internet activities among internet users in each generation.
Tags: activities, boomers, Corrie Davidson, demographics, differences, e-Commerce, email, gen x, gen y, generation, generational, millennials, online, Social Media, social networking, statistics, stats
