---
title: "Internet Usage Trends – Through the Demographic Lens"
description: "One in five adults in this country are disconnected from the just-in-time information source that the internet has become for many people."
date: "2006-11-06"
authors:
  - name: "Susannah Fox"
    job_title: "Former Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/susannah-fox/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2006/11/06/internet-usage-trends-through-the-demographic-lens/"
categories:
  - "Digital Divide"
  - "Platforms & Services"
tags:
  - "Communities"
  - "Digital Divide"
---

# Internet Usage Trends – Through the Demographic Lens

Internet users solve problems or choose products by tapping their social networks and by using a search engine. Looking at these trends through a demographic lens, however, we see that about one in five adults in this country are disconnected from the just-in-time information source that the internet has become for many people. One in five adults are disconnected from the online communities that people use to find a new job, a new place to live, or the best treatment for their loved one’s illness.