December 11, 2008: Baby boomers are online in vast numbers, but their taste in digital communications is a bit old-fashioned, says an ExactTarget study. E-mail is the preferred digital channel of 80 percent of 45-54-year-olds and 87 percent of 55-64s, said the survey, as quoted by e-Marketer.

Just 5 percent of 35-54s preferred instant messaging, while 10 percent like to text. With 55-64s, IM is the preferred channel for just 2 percent, and texting is tops for 3 percent.

But -- not surprisingly -- with 15-17-year-olds, the youngest demo surveyed, text messaging is the most often preferred digital channel, with 42 percent, compared to 16 percent who like IMs and 27 percent who prefer e-mail. For the 18-24s, texting was also the top channel, chosen by 34 percent; 19 percent said they prefer instant messaging, and 34 percent said e-mail is still their favorite way to communicate online.