Senior Citizens, Older Baby Boomers Lead Charge to
High-Speed Internet
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life
Project finds broadband use finally on the move
June 24, 2009 The use of a broadband connection
to reach the Internet by senior citizens has jumped from only 19 percent
in May of 2008 to 30 percent in April of 2009, according to a new report
from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The
study that looked at broadband usage also found baby boomers age 50-64
increased usage from 50 percent in 2008 to 61 percent in 2009.
Among all adult Americans, home broadband adoption
stood at 63% as of April 2009, up from 55% in May 2008.
The Pew study found the adoption of high-speed
connection has jumped forward from the stagnation that had prevailed
from December 2007 through December 2008. During that period, Pew
Internet Project surveys found that home broadband penetration remained
in a narrow range between 54% and 57%.
The greatest growth in broadband adoption in the
past year has taken place among population subgroups which have below
average usage rates, including senior citizens and older baby boomers.
Others included the following:
● Low-income Americans: Two groups of low-income
Americans saw strong broadband growth from 2008 to 2009: First,
respondents living in households whose annual household income is
$20,000 or less saw broadband adoption grow from 25% in 2008 to 35% in
2009.
Second, respondents living in households whose annual incomes are
between $20,000 and $30,000 annually experienced a growth in broadband
penetration from 42% to 53%.Overall, respondents reporting that they
live in homes with annual household incomes below $30,000 experienced a
34% growth in home broadband adoption from 2008 to 2009.
● High-school graduates: Among adults whose
highest level of educational attainment is a high school degree,
broadband adoption grew from 40% in 2008 to 52% in 2009.
● Rural Americans: Adults living in rural America
had home high-speed usage grow from 38% in 2008 to 46% in 2009.
Population subgroups that have above-average usage
rates saw more modest increases during this time period.
● Upper-income Americans: Adults who reported
annual household incomes over $75,000 had broadband adoption rate change
from 84% in 2008 to 85% in 2009.
● College graduates: Adults with a college degree
(or more) saw their home high-speed usage grow from 79% in 2008 to 83%
in 2009.
Notably, African Americans experienced their second
consecutive year of broadband adoption growth that was below average.
● In 2009, 46% of African Americans had broadband
at home.
● This compares with 43% in 2008.
● In 2007, 40% of African Americans had broadband
at home.
The Pew Internet Project's April 2009 survey
interviewed 2,253 Americans, with 561 respondents interviewed on their
cell phones.
Internet Use Triples in
Decade, U.S. Census Bureau Reports
Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau
show that 62 percent of households reported using Internet
access in the home in 2007, an increase from 18 percent in 1997,
the first year the bureau collected data on Internet use.
Sixty-four percent of individuals 18 and
over used the Internet from any location in 2007, while only 22
percent did so in 1997.
When looking at age groups, the
percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds who accessed the Internet was
more than double (73 percent) that of people 65 and older (35
percent).
Among children 3 to 17, 56 percent used
the Internet.
Among households using the Internet in
2007, 82 percent reported using a high-speed connection, and 17
percent used a dial-up connection.
As access to high speed connections
have become more prevalent, so too have the number of people
that connect to the Internet at home, said Thom File, a
statistician with the Census Bureau Housing and Household
Economic Statistics Division. These data give us a better
understanding of who is using the Internet and from where.
Among the
states, Alaska and New Hampshire residents had among the highest
rates of Internet use from any location (home, work or public
access) for those 3 and older in 2007. Mississippi and West
Virginia had among the lowest rates of Internet use at about 52
percent.
Internet usage also varied by education.
For individuals 25 and older with a bachelors degree, 87
percent reported going online from any location in 2007.
For those with only some college, 74
percent reported using the Internet.
About half (49 percent) of those with
only a high school diploma reported using the Internet, compared
with 19 percent for those without a high school diploma.
Internet usage also varied by race and
Hispanic origin; 69 percent of whites lived in households with
Internet use, while the same was true for 51 percent of blacks,
73 percent of Asians and 48 percent of Hispanics. (See Table 2.)
Prices for home broadband service increased from
2008 to 2009. Home high-speed users who reported more choices of
providers paid less than others.
● The average monthly bill for broadband service
in April 2009 was $39, an increase from $34.50 in May 2008.
● Broadband users who say they have just one
provider where they live (21% of home high-speed users) report an
average monthly bill of $44.70.
● Among broadband users with more than one
provider in their area (69% of home high-speed users), the average
monthly broadband bill is $38.30.
● A subset of home broadband users who say four
or more broadband service providers serve their neighborhood (17% of all
home high-speed users) reported an average monthly bill of $32.10.
A growing share of broadband subscribers pay for
premium service that gives them faster speeds. They are also paying more
for the extra speed than they did a year ago.
● In 2009, 34% of home broadband users said they
subscribed to a service that gave them faster access speeds, an increase
from 29% in 2008.
● About the same share of home broadband users
subscribed to basic service in 2009 (53%) as in 2008 (54%).
● Subscribers to premium service paid an average
of $44.60 per month for broadband in 2009, up from $38.10 in 2008.
● For basic service, broadband users reported a
monthly bill of $37.10 in 2009, up from $32.80 in 2008.
A majority of home broadband users see a home
high-speed connection as "very important" to at least one dimension of
their lives and community, such as communicating with health care
providers and government officials, or gathering and sharing information
about the community.
Overall, 55% of broadband users view a high-speed
link at home as "very important" with respect to at least one of these
topics they were asked about. Some 84% of home broadband users see their
fast connection as "somewhat important" or "very important" in at least
one of the five realms listed above.
When asked why they do not have the internet or
broadband at home, non-users (either dialup subscribers or non-internet
users) cite factors related to the internet's relevance, availability,
usability and price. A third of dial-up users cite price as a barrier,
with the remaining two-thirds citing other factors.
Only 7% of Americans are dial-up internet users at
home, a figure that is half the level it had been two years ago. Here's
what they say when asked what it would take for them to switch to a
broadband connection at home.
● 32% said the price would have to fall.
● 20% said nothing would get them to change.
● 17% said it would have to become available
where they live.
● 16% responded "don't know."
● 13% cited some other reason.
Non-internet users, 21% of adults, are three times
the size of dial-up users and cite a wider range of reasons as to why
they don't have internet access:
● 22% say they are not interested in getting
online (a decrease from 33% who said this at the end of 2007).
● 16% say they can't get access where they live.
● 13% cited some other reason.
● 10% said it was too expensive.
● 7% said they believe the internet is difficult
to use.
● 6% say they don't need or want it.
● 6% responded "don't know" or refused to
respond.
● 5% said they don't have a computer.
● 4% said they were busy or have no time for the
internet.
● 4% said they think the internet is a waste of
time.
Consolidating the reasons mentioned across the two
classes of non-broadband users into four categories yields the following
table. It shows that half of non-internet or dial-up users cite a reason
that suggests they question the relevance of connecting to the internet
- either at all or with high-speed at home.
June 24, 2009 The use of a broadband connection
to reach the Internet by senior citizens has jumped from only 19 percent
in May of 2008 to 30 percent in April of 2009, according to a new report
from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The
study that looked at broadband usage also found baby boomers age 50-64
increased usage from 50 percent in 2008 to 61 percent in 2009.
