The bar charts illustrate internet usage for various purposes in Australia in 2010 and 2011 period. Overall, the most common purpose which people used the internet was emailing, followed by paying the bills and then social media. When it comes to internet usage by different age groups, the oldest group showed bigger figures, except for social media, where internet usage decreases with age.
Focusing on purposes first, emailing was the most popular, at around 70%, while paying the bills online stood at slightly lower at 65%. Social media however, exhibited smaller percentages, roughly at 45%.
Paying the bills and emailing recorded similar patterns. The 60% of youngest age group used internet for these purposes, compared to the next age cohort (26-40), which was slightly higher at 65%. Among people 40-60, just under 80% used internet for emailing and paying the bills, which was almost the same with the oldest age category. As for 60-65 age group, 70% used internet for these two purposes.
In contrast, the usage of social media exhibited reversal trend, which declines as the age goes. Almost all of the youngest age group used internet for this purpose, while that for the oldest age bracket made up only 30%.