Younger People Using Email Less (or Maybe Using Gmail More) [Email]

You may think the world doesn't lack for emails, but just wait until the younger generation comes up. A Comscore survey found 12-to-17-year-olds spening 48 percent less time on email sites—though Gmail actually gained ground, and mobile email wasn't included.

Says the New York Times about Comscore's findings:

The numbers testify to the trend. The number of total unique visitors in the United States to major e-mail sites like Yahoo and Hotmail is now in steady decline, according to the research company comScore. Such visits peaked in November 2009 and have since slid 6 percent; visits among 12- to 17-year-olds fell around 18 percent. (The only big gainer in the category has been Gmail, up 10 percent from a year ago.)

The chart above shows the wider range of findings, with those over 55 actually spending more time at web-based email sites, and a wide divide between those 17 and under and slightly older young adults. There are some notable question marks in the survey, including the lack of accounting for email through mobile devices like BlackBerry phones, and the perhaps limited scope of looking at just Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail usage. And if younger users are actually adopting Facebook's messaging system in any number, that muddies the waters when it comes to defining "email."

Still, the numbers are intriguing. Do you see yourself moving away from email more and more? Will email always be available for you, or could you see another messaging platform replacing it?

E-Mail Use Falls as Young Chat and Text [NYTimes.com]