Survey Says: Widening Generation Gap

A survey released on Monday by the Pew Research Center found that 79 percent of people believe there is a major difference in the point of view of younger people and older people today. That figure marks the highest percentage since 1969, when 74 percent of people said there was a generation gap. It could be that the phrase "generation gap" now means something different and less confrontational than it did during the countercultures defiant challenges in the 1960s, Pew reports. But whatever the definition, roughly equal shares of young, middle-aged and older respondents to the survey agree that such a gap exists, with the major differences having to do with morality, values and work ethic. Another major difference is in the adoption of new information technologies, according to the survey.

For example, just four in ten adults ages 65 to 74 use the Internet on a daily basis, and that number drops to just one in six among adults age 75 and above. By contrast, three-quarters of adults ages 18 to 30 go online daily. The generation gap is even wider when it comes to cell phones and text messaging. Among adults 65 and older, only 5 percent get most of their calls on a cell phone, and just 11 percent use their cell phone to send or receive text messages. For adults under age 30, the comparable figures are 72 percent and 87 percent, respectively.