These factors include household income and family structure, work status, gender, location, profession and age which has a significant impact. Australians aged 65 and over are less likely to be connected to the internet than all other age groups. Forty-eight per cent of this age group were connected to the internet in the quarter ending June 2008, compared with an average of 78 per cent for other age groups. .
Australians are increasingly using the internet for applications such as email, instant messenger and chat, user-generated content services and voice over internet protocol and video applications. While adoption of these services is being driven by younger Australians they are increasingly being used by all age groups. Their use is influenced by factors such as lifestyle, the frequency of internet use and broadband connection. The data-intense nature of many of these services means that broadband is able to offer a more timely and efficient user experience. .
While the majority of Australians use the internet, there is also a segment of Australian society that is not online. The Australian Bureau of Statistics identified from its 2006 Census of Population and Housing 2.6 million Australians who did not use the internet at home. More recent data shows that at June 2008 an estimated 13 per cent of Australians aged 14 years and over had never used the internet. These people tend to be older Australians, with nearly half being over the age of 50 years. Lack of interest or cost remain the most frequently reported reasons for not using the internet.
The majority of older non-internet users see no real benefit in using the internet, seeing it as not relevant to their lifestyle; while non-internet users aged between 18 and 49 years identified cost as the major barrier to connection. The majority of those not online (77 per cent) do not plan to connect or use the internet in the future.
