Handout #2
Building Supportive Infrastructure for Entrepreneurship
Curriculum developed in part with funding from
USDA/RCDI Building Entrepreneurial Community Capacity Project
Additional Reading
The following article is offered through the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the Pew Charitable
Trusts. This article as well as the website provides good resources on the use of the internet.
Who's Online and What Are They Doing There?
Written by Sarah Perez / January 30, 2009
Generation Y, aka the "Net Generation," does not dominate every aspect of
online life. That revealing statistic and many others like it come from Pew
Internet and American Life's recent "Generations Online" report which takes a
look at how the different generations of users - from Millennials to the G.I.
Generation - use the internet.
The web is still largely populated by younger generations as over half of those
online are between the ages of 18 and 44 years old. But these days, larger percentages of older
generations are going online and they are doing more activities while there.
According to Pew's research, Generation X is most likely to shop, bank, and look for health information
online, but boomers are just as likely as Gen Y to make travel reservations online. Even the older Silent
Generation is competitive when it comes to email, although that could point to the fact that email is an
activity that is trending older.
Who Uses Email?
It's true: email is for old people - at least it is now. Today, 74% of internet users age 64 and older send
and receive email, making it the most popular activity in this group. Meanwhile, email usage among
teens is dropping. In 2004, 89% of teens said they used email. Now that number is 73%.
Social Networking Dominated by the Young
Teens and Generation Y (18-32*) are the most likely to use the internet for entertainment and for
communicating with friends and family through social networks. They're also more likely than others to
play online games, watch videos, send instant messages, hang out in virtual worlds, and download
music. In other words, they're the most likely to use the net for fun.
The favorite online activity for teens, however, is not social networking - it's game playing. 78% of 1217 year-olds play games online, but only 50% of Gen Y does.
Older Generations Research, Shop, and Bank
It's not really surprising to discover that the older generations use the internet less for socializing and
entertainment and more for research, email, and shopping. Generation X (ages 33-44) remains the leader
when it comes to online shopping with 80% using the internet to buy products online, compared with
71% of internet users ages 18-32.
What is surprising is that users age 73 and up use the internet just as frequently for doing health searches
as does Gen Y. In fact, researching health information is only the third most popular online activity for
seniors, after email and general online search.
However, when it comes to online banking, it's Gen X that dominates. 67% of this age group does their
banking online. Gen Y will most likely do more banking online as they grow older. You can see the
activity trending up in their group from 38% in 2005 to 57% in 2008. As Gen Y ages, this number will
continue to increase, as does the percentage using the net for booking travel. In 2005, 50% of Gen Y
booked travel online and today 65% do.
This article, with downloadable graphs and charts, can be accessed at:
readwriteweb.com/archives/whos_online_and_what_are_they_doing_there.php
The following downloadable manual provides a guide to establishing connected communities. Chapter
2, Learn about Broadband, provides an excellent explanation of terms commonly used when referring to
telecommunications and the internet.
Connecting Rural Communities: A Guide to Community Information Technology
The Southern Rural Development Center
connectingcommunities.info/
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RUPRI - Rural Policy Research Institute: The entire Rural Policy Research Institute entrepreneurship
website, located at: http://www.rupri.org/ provides excellent research, information and programs.
RUPRI also provides an electronic newsletter, RUPRI Rural Entrepreneurship E-Newsletter, which
provides good information for entrepreneurs. To subscribe, contact Deb Markley, Newsletter Editor and
Managing Director at: deb@e2mail.org 919-932-7762