Heads up, hipsters: Oldsters are catching up in online time
Another surprise stat in Forrester Research’s annual Internet use survey of 40,000 Americans, which came out today: Generation Y users, ages 18 to 29, lead in time spent online, logging just over 19 hours per week on average for work and non-work purposes. But the slightly older Generation Xers, now aged 30 to 43, are right behind them at 17 hours per week average.
Even more surprising, all age groups above Gen X, meaning all adults age 44 and up, run about equal at personal Internet use, averaging 8 hours per week. Seniors 65 and older don’t work as much on the Net as younger adults, but they spend the same 8 hours average in front of a screen.
Forrester’s researchers found, though, that different age groups use the Net for different things. Whereas younger people spend time following sports, older users are much more likely to be looking for financial information.
Overall, Forrester found, U.S. users now average a total of 12 hours per week online, a figure that seems to have stabilized rather than continuing to grow.
[Photo from Broadband Finder]
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About the Author, Paul Boutin
Paul (paul@venturebeat.com) covers Apple & the iPhone, social networks & social media, digital music & video, and any crazy Internet story. Paul wrote and edited for Valleywag from 2006-2008, after several years with Wired magazine and Slate. He writes regularly for The New York Times' technology section and sometimes for Wired and The Wall Street Journal. He studied computer science at MIT in the early 1980s, and worked as a software developer and network administrator for 15 years before becoming a professional writer. Follow him on Twitter at @paulboutin, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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