From cell phones and texting to religion and manners, younger and older Americans see the world differently, creating the largest generation gap since the tumultuous years of the 1960s and the culture clashes over Vietnam, civil rights and women’s liberation.
A new study released Monday by the Pew Research Center found Americans of different ages increasingly at odds over a range of social and technological issues. Almost eight in 10 people believe there is a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today. That is the highest spread since 1969, when about 74 percent reported major differences. In contrast, just 60 percent in 1979 saw a generation gap.
Younger people are more likely to embrace technology. About 75 percent of adults 18 to 30 went online daily, compared with 40 percent of those 65 to 74 and about 16 percent for people 75 and older. The age gap widened over cell phones and text messaging. About 6 percent of those 65 and older used a cell phone for most or all of their calls; 11 percent sent or received text messages. That’s compared with 64 percent of adults under 30 for cell phone use and 87 percent for texting.
Pew interviewed 2,969 adults by cell phone or landline from Feb. 23 to March 23. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points. In cases where older persons were too ill or incapacitated, their adult children were interviewed. Pew also used surveys conducted by Gallup, CBS and The New York Times to identify trends since 1969.
