While young people still dominate the online population, by far the fastest growing age group online includes those ages 70 to 75. While only 26% of this age group used the internet just four years ago, currently 45% go online. This is still less than half of the online population of those ages 12 to 17 (93%). As has been the case for younger age groups, these numbers probably will level off as time goes on. While younger generations have seen a decrease in email use — as they increasingly use instant messaging and social networks — it remains the most popular internet activity for those ages 64 and older. Researching health and religious information is also more popular for older internet users. Read More
Russell Heimlich is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.
