This IS your grandma's Internet

But more and more, young and old are coming together in one place: the Internet.

Since 2005, the biggest increase in Internet users was in the 70-75 year-old age group, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life project.

The world wide web is becoming simply a part of the way we do life in America, no matter what age.

Those 64 years and older are finding their place online.

According to the Pew study, 45 percent of 70-75 year olds are online. That's up from 26 percent three years ago.

The biggest reason: email.

According to the report, 74 percent of Internet users that are 64 or older use email.

One Le Mars 72 year old said she and her husband had the internet mostly for emailing their children.

On the flipside, email's popularity dropped among teens, the Pew study said.

One Remsen teen said he's using the Internet, but not to send email.

"I watch videos on YouTube, music videos. I also do research for school," he said. But if he wants to stay in touch with his friends, he uses his cell phone.

Many teens rely on text messaging with their cell phones rather than email to talk with friends.

"We're finding that a lot of high schoolers who get cell phones never talk on them. They just text," said Ryan DeKruyf, manager of internet provider Premier Communications in Le Mars.

Other teens keep friends updated on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Those 64 years and older aren't limited to emailing on the Internet.

According to the study, 13 percent of those 73 and older are now downloading videos -- that's up from only 1 percent in 2005.

Also, 13 percent of those 64-72 are downloading videos, also an increase.

Even more popular, though, is searching for information online, especially health information.

"The older generation is using the Internet for looking up news, sports -- like they'll use it to track Cubs' games if they're Cubs' fans," DeKruyf said.

And they're shopping online, too. More than half of internet users 64-72 buy online, and nearly half of those over 73 do as well.

DeKruyf says Internet use among all ages is growing.

"Every day there is more and more stuff you can do online," DeKruyf said.

How does each generation use the Internet?

* Under 12 years old -- Games, mostly, according to DeKruyf. Webkins are big, he said. Webkins are stuffed animals that come with a code that children can type in online and play games with the "animal" online to earn points where they can buy online accessories for their Webkin.

* 12-18 -- Instant messaging and downloading music are some of their top reasons for going online. "High schoolers use it more for social networking than research," DeKruyf said. This age group is also big with online games.

* Generation Y: 18-28 -- School research and health information searches are big for this group of Internet users. Generation Y leads in using the Internet for job hunting. Email is popular, especially for those who have moved away from home or college. "Up until a couple of years ago, there were a lot of high school friends I didn't know where they were at or what they were doing," 27-year-old DeKruyf said. "Now I keep track of them on Facebook." He noted that in this age group he sees a fair amount of online gamers, who purchase higher speed Internet to keep up with their games.

* Generation X: 29-40 -- Getting news, researching products, making travel reservations, shopping online, banking -- this group is less into games and music downloading and more into doing everyday tasks online. "They're a lot busier," DeKruyf said, adding that he sees this group do more online shopping. "Even if they have to pay shipping, it's well worth it to them to save a few hours out of their day by shopping online."

* Baby Boomers: 45-63 -- This group leads in percent of online users who email. DeKruyf added that booking trips is a big draw as well. Searching for health information, getting news, looking up product information and shopping online are also big ones for the Baby Boomers.

* Silent Generation: 64-72 -- Health information, email, travel reservations, government websites, news and product research draw these Internet users online. Internet shopping is also popular in this category.

* G.I. Generation: 73+ -- Using the web to find someone is a common reason for this group to be on the Internet -- about one-third use it for that. Again, email is very popular. News, product research, health information and travel reservations bring this group online as well.