Social networks fit into this equation, too. Though the has remained steady since 2002, the allure of social network sites has skyrocketed since appearing on the Pew radar in 2005. In 2005 just 11 percent of adults included social networks in their online activity, and now 65 percent of adults include socnets.

The report, which is based on surveys conducted with 2257 adults (aged 18+), notes that, for a technology as long in the tooth as search happens to be, the activity is popular at both ends of the age spectrum. Some 96 percent of young adults (18-29) use search engines, while 87 percent of older adults (65+) also use search engines. However, while 66 percent of young adults use search engines on a daily business, only 37 percent of older adults do so.

Pew also finds that search usage climbs as income increases. Ninety percent of households with less than $30,000 in income have used search, while 91 percent of households with an income of $30,000 - $50,000 have used search, and 98 percent of households with an income of $75,000+ have used search.

The findings for email are similar: 94 percent of young adults have used email, while 87 percent of older adults have done so. Older adults are more likely to use email daily (46 percent) than they are to use search engines.

Ethnic usage trends discovered by the pollsters were also revealing. For example, whites were more likely to use email every day (63 percent) compared to Hispanics (53 percent) and African Americans (48 percent), the report said.