Internet’s importance rose for youngest, oldest adults in first year of pandemic | Pew Research Center

February 10, 2025

4. How COVID-19 impacted Americans’ relationship with technology

Internet’s importance rose for youngest, oldest adults in first year of pandemic

Internet’s importance rose for youngest, oldest adults in first year of pandemic

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Internet’s importance rose for youngest, oldest adults in first year of pandemic

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4. How COVID-19 impacted Americans’ relationship with technology
About half of Americans say the COVID 19 pandemic changed how they use technology today
A majority of adults under 30 say the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way they now use technology
About half of those who say the pandemic changed how they now use technology think these changes have made life both easier and harder
Internet’s importance rose for youngest, oldest adults in first year of pandemic
In 2021, majorities of Americans said those without high-speed internet were at a major disadvantage for school, job searching during COVID-19
In 2022, 16% of teens were extremely or very worried they’d fallen behind in school due to COVID-19 – and 28% of parents said the same about their teen
In 2022, teens living in lower-income households were more likely to face certain challenges related to the ‘homework gap’
Over the first year of COVID-19 pandemic, rising shares of Americans in both parties said the government should provide technology to all students
Roughly 7 in 10 parents said in 2021 that their children were spending more time in front of screens than they did before COVID-19 pandemic began
In 2021, 53% of Americans said they felt less close to acquaintances than before the pandemic, and 25% said this about close family members