Who is on the internet?....Everybody!!

A new study recently published by Pew Internet finds that teens and young adults are blogging less and using social networking sites more, with the prominent exception of Twitter.

This report brings together recent findings about internet and social media use among young adults by situating it within comparable data for adolescents and adults older than 30. All the most current data on teens is drawn from a survey conducted between June 26 and September 24, 2009 of 800 adolescents between ages 12 and 17. Most of the adult data are drawn from a survey conducted between August 18 and September 14, 2009 of 2,253 adults (age 18 and over).

Here’s a no-brainer: young adults use the web far more than older adults. In its study, Pew found that 93% of teens and young adults go online, compared to only 38% of adults over 65 years of age. It surprises us that 7% of 12-29 year olds still don’t browse the web, but some just don’t have or can’t afford access.

Among those teens going online, 63% say they go online at least once a day, with older teens more likely to go online than younger teens.

There is also some stats about moms; at home moms are more likely to be on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter than other moms, by more than 15%. So this should be good news for retailers, if you aren’t engaging customers through social media you could be missing the boat. Twitter, Facebook and blogs are becoming increasingly popular with moms as they search for coupons or deals and keep in touch with loved ones. As we said several times the web provides efficient, convenient ways for brands to stay in front of their most loyal shoppers and attract new ones.

And Facebooking moms are apparently open to marketer contact, but want marketers to take their wants into account. Many online moms are looking for coupons and discounts, so offering exclusive deals or even loyalty programs are an option. Moms also want some interaction, so brands entering the social sphere must not only have a social page but must update and interact through that page often.

Although studies have shown that moms are more likely to trust recommendations by friends, engaging moms with product information is one way to give moms the incentive to ask for product recommendations.

The Internet’s getting faster and more accessible. As computer prices drop and Internet access becomes more readily available, we will see these internet usage numbers continue to rise.

Full report can be found here: