Demographics

Age

With 71% of Americans using the internet at least monthly in 2010, US internet users now closely resemble the general population.  Over the next five years, that trend will continue.  Overall, the number of monthly internet users in the US will rise to 250.7 million in 2014, up from 221 million in 2010, according to estimates by eMarketer.

US internet users by age in 2014:
- TOTAL: 250.7 million (77.8%), up from 221.0 million in 2010 (71.2%)
- 3-11:   24.9 million (64.1%) / 18.6 million (49.8%)
- 12-17: 24.5 million (96.6%) / 23.8 million (94.6%)
- 18-24: 29.0 million (93.0%), 27.9 million (91.0%)
- 25-34: 39.6 million (90.0%), 36.5 million (87.4%)
- 35-44: 36.7 million (89.0%), 34.5 million (83.5%)
- 45-54: 37.9 million (87.0%), 35.1 million (78.6%)
- 55.64: 31.7 million (79.8%), 26.0 million (71.7%)
- 65+: 26.4 million (54.0%), 18.6 million (43.2%)

More than half of new users will be aged 45 and up, as many of the remaining laggards come on board. Among younger groups, the internet is nearly ubiquitous, and most who are able to access it already do so, leaving limited potential for penetration growth. Notably, though, eMarketer expects significant increases in usage among children ages 3 to 11, as technology becomes a part of consumers' lives at increasingly younger ages.

Currently, 12- to 24-year-olds represent a major bloc of users at 51.7 million, or 23.4% of the total. By 2014, though, their share will wane to 21.3%, even as their numbers increase to 53.5 million. Meanwhile, those aged 45 and older will grow from 35% to 38.3% of total users to more closely align with their relative share in the overall population.

While older groups will occupy a larger share of monthly users, that measure is quickly becoming antiquated. Younger groups have already entered a new phase of always-on internet use, where the Web never leaves their side and is accessible 24/7 through their phone or other devices. Those 34 and under will continue to be the heaviest, most engaged and most voracious consumers of content online. (eMarketer, February 2010)

Boomers are aging, but they still dominate the US population both online and offline. They make up 32.5% of the US adult population, but 36% of the online adult population and account for about one-third of Web traffic on a typical day, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Those numbers are still growing, albeit slowly.

US boomers (aged 50-64) who use the internet, November 2008 & September 2009 (% of respondents):
- Ever used the internet: 71% (Nov 08) / 77% (Sep 09)
- Used internet yesterday: 66% / 69%

This willingness to try new technology means boomers are ready for digital convergence in the home. Nearly six in 10 (59%) boomer internet users in Deloitte's "State of the Media Democracy Fourth Edition" survey "strongly" or "somewhat" agreed that they would like to connect their TV to the internet, compared to just 40% of boomer internet users surveyed in 2006. (eMarketer, January 2010)

A majority of internet users over the age of 65 used e-mail, shopped online, researched health information and news, and banked on the Web, according to data from the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM). In fact, seniors were more likely than any other age group to conduct e-commerce activities.

Online activities of US senior (65+) internet users, June 2009 (% of respondents):
- Use email: 94%
- Shop online: 77%
- Look up health and medical information: 71%
- Read news: 70%
- Manage finances and banking: 59%
- Play free online games: 47%

Boomer internet users were likewise very active online, with 71% shopping on the Web, 39% visiting networking and community sites, and 30% regularly watching online video.

Online activities of US boomer internet users, June 2009 (% of respondents):
- Use e-mail: 93%
- Read news: 73%
- Shopping online: 71%
- Gather information: 67%
- Pay bills: 66%
- Go to networking websites, forums, message boards and chat rooms: 39%
- Watch videos online: 30%

Still, even wide adoption of e-commerce by senior Internet users does not necessarily translate into many seniors shopping online. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reported that in December 2008 only 11% of US internet users were ages 64 and older. And according to the Pew Research Center, just 28% of US seniors reported going online every day in February and March 2009.

Boomers are a much bigger force on the Web. eMarketer estimates that in 2009 Internet users ages 45 to 63 make up 28.8% of the total, or 57.4 million users. (eMarketer, November 2009)

US seniors are doing just fine without making the internet a daily part of their lives, according to the Pew Research Center that found that only 28% of US residents over age 65 had used the internet in the 24 hours prior to polling in March 2009. By contrast, 75% of people ages 18 to 29 reported the same.

Seniors don't seem to be overly chatty, either, at least when they are on the go. Nearly three-quarters of people ages 65 and above received "very few" or no calls on their cellphones. That number compares to 72% of 18-to-29-year-olds who received all or most of their calls on a mobile phone.

Pew found that among older adults, happiness varied little by age, race, ethnicity-or fondness for technology. (eMarketer, July 2009)

About 9 out of 10 US consumers ages 12 to 24 use the internet. That is not surprising. But more than half of those ages 65 to 69 are online as well, and internet-using 70-to-74-year-olds make up 45% of people that age, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Pew noted that the biggest increase in internet use since 2005 was in the 70-to-75-year-old age group; just over a quarter of them were online in 2005. The researcher said that Internet penetration would likely level off over time, but, "for now...young people dominate the online population."

US Internet users, by age 2008 (% of respondents in each group):
- 12-17: 93% (up from 87% in 2005)
- 18-24: 89% (82%)
- 25-29: 85% (85%)
- 30-34: 87% (83%)
- 35-39: 80% (80%)
- 40-44: 83% (76%)
- 45-49: 80% (73%)
- 50-54: 78% (68%)
- 55-59: 71% (68%)
- 60-64: 62% (55%)
- 65-69: 56% (57%)
- 70-74: 45% (26%)
- 75+: 27% (17%)

Pew measured the percentages of those who had ever been online. By a stricter definition of Internet users, eMarketer estimates that 78.8% of 12-to-17-year-olds went online at least once per month in 2008.

Pew noted that Internet users in their 20s did not dominate every aspect of online life. Generation X was the group most likely to bank, shop and look for health information online. And baby boomers were just as likely as Gen Yers to make travel reservations on the Web. (eMarketer, February 2009)