Age, Generations & Tech

Roughly two-thirds of Americans ages 65 and older now get news on a mobile device (67%), a 24-percentage-point increase over the past year.

Nearly two-thirds of those age 65 and older go online and a record share now own smartphones – although many seniors remain relatively divorced from digital life.

Today’s parents must navigate how, when and to what extent they oversee their teens’ online and mobile activities.

Parents monitor their teen’s digital activities in a number of ways, such as checking browser histories or social media profiles, but using technical means like parental controls is less common.

Thanks to texting and social media, teens today have many more ways to reach out to a crush than in the analog days of using the family telephone and passing notes in the hallways.

A new Pew Research Center survey of 13- t0 17-year-olds examines how teens flirt, date and even break up in the digital age.

From heart emojis on Instagram to saying goodbye to a relationship with a text message, digital technology plays an important role in teen relationships.

It may seem as if basic or flip phones are a thing of the past, given that 73% of teens have a smartphone. But that still leaves 15% of teens who only have a basic cellphone and 12% who have none at all, and it makes a difference in the way each group communicates.

Texting is the most common and frequent way that teens communicate with all types of friends, but they haven’t abandoned phone calling – especially among their closest friends.

Our latest report focuses on how teens develop and sustain friendships in the digital age, including where they meet, communicate and spend time with friends.