According to a report by the Pew Internet American Life Project, the internet is “maturing” (that was a pun) as older users begin to more aggressively spend time online. The biggest group of new internet users since 2005 is the 70-75 year old category. The Center for Media Research has a great summary of the reports findings.
The Pew report points out that older age groups use the internet more for transactional services, such as research, shopping and banking. Younger groups are more focused on networking/hanging out.
However, more mature age demo’s are getting into the online entertainment phenomena too:
Some 13% of G.I. Generation internet users (age 73+) reported downloading videos, up from 1% in 2005, and another 13% of the online Silent Generation (ages 64-72) say they download videos, up from 8% in 2005.
That is a pretty serious data point for people making the case for online videos becoming more and more mainstream. Perhaps the era of true on demand entertainment will actually reach all generations of Americans!
The report is an interesting and quick read, and may contain useful figures for entrepreneurs building an internet based business. You should check it out!
