Report: Most of Us Go Online for No Apparent Reason

We nominate this for Obvious Study of the Week.

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According to a new report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, many of us — and the majority of young adults — go online for no good reason at all.

The study found that on any given day, 53% of 18 to 29 year-olds go online just to have fun or pass time. Pew’s phone survey was conducted from July 25 to Aug. 26 among 2,260 American adults.

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This statistic highlights the general finding that the amount of time people spend aimlessly surfing the Web corresponds with age. Only 12% of people over 65 say they went online the previous day for no particular reason. Of those aged 50 to 64, the study found 27% answered yes to the same question. In all, 58% of all adults said that they use the Internet to pass time or have fun at least occasionally. Of adults who use the Internet, nearly three-quarters surf the Web for no reason.

The survey didn’t define “fun,” but NewsFeed guesses it encompasses memes, technology mishaps (lots of them) and cat videos. This probably explains at least part of the age discrepancy.

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