Internet se pone gris

A pesar de que toda la atención está puesta en las nuevas generaciones (Y o G, como quieran), internet ya está envejeciendo y parte de la población que llegó a aceptarlo (¿a la fuerza?) comienza a familiarizarse con todas las oportunidades que se abren con internet. Un fenéomeno que va bastante rápido. El estudio del Pew Institute Generación Online 2009 muestra elementos que debieran, al menos, poner en alerta a los diarios, porque son sus más fieles clientes los que están ajustando sus mecanismos de consumo. Las generaciones mayores no se involucran en redes sociales, ni utilizan los celulares para navegar. Tampoco son adictos a descargar música ni twittear, pero sí ponen sus atención en las noticias online, en el uso de servicios y visitan frecuentemente blogs. Actividades que tienen que ver con calidad de vida y principalmente con acceso a información vital. Los medios -especialmente los diarios- deben estar preparados par este cambio. Mientras internet se vaya "poniendo gris", las potencialidades de los medios se irán diversificando con igual interés. Los no nativos desecharán el papel no con la misma intensidad que las nuevas generaciones, pero el proceso será inevitable. Esto no necesariamente es malo: se abren nuevas perspectivas de negocios con clientes a quienes los medios conocen mejor.

Compared with teens and Generation Y, older generations use the internet less for socializing and entertainment and more as a tool for information searches, emailing, and buying products. In particular, older internet users are significantly more likely than younger generations to look online for health information. Health questions drive internet users age 73 and older to the internet just as frequently as they drive Generation Y users, outpacing teens by a significant margin. Researching health information is the third most popular online activity with the most senior age group, after email and online search.



















Internet users ages 33-72 are also significantly more likely than younger users to look online for religious information and they are more likely to visit government websites in search of information.Generation X (internet users ages 33-44) continues to lead in online shopping. Fully 80% of Generation X internet users buy products online, compared with 71% of internet users ages 18-32. Interest in online shopping is significantly lower among the youngest and oldest groups; 38% of online teens buy products online, as do 56% of internet users ages 64-72 and 47% of internet users age 73 and older.



Generation X internet users have also maintained their edge in online banking, as they are significantly more likely than any other generation to do their banking online (67%). As Generation Y users get older, however, they have grown much more likely to bank online as well: the percentage of online Generation Y to do their banking online is up from 38% in 2005 to 57% in 2008. At the same time, those generations older than Generation X have remained relatively equally likely as they were three years ago to use the internet to do their banking.