Now I'm 27 and I find my web habits are growing more conservative as I get older.

I've stopped using IM. And I always keep skype on anonymous mode. I hate the thought of my extended social network seeing my every move from afar...John just restarted his computer!! John woke up!! John got home from work!!

And while the immediacy of IM can be convenient, it is also makes it a hassle. email can be safely ignored for a several hours. But IM and social networking sites are public and equipped with timestamps.

I also have a blog, but it lays dormant. About two years ago, I scrapped over 4 years worth of blog archives since I was job-hunting. I figured employers can easily google my name, and I'd rather them not read everything I've written since 2001.

So now I am one of the old curmudgeons on the web.

Well said. My experiences mirror yours to some extent.

And it's not just that email can be "safely ignored." If your job consists of more than just answering email, it really needs to be ignored. That's why I doubt IM is going to catch on big in work environments. If a couple of key people in the office IM you occasionally it works well and everybody's happy. But if every communication came via IM, the "instant" part of IM would be lost and nobody would be happy.

Interesting. This mirrors my experience with email and the web as each of these technologies evolved (yeah I'm a REAL curmudgeon having used email now for about 28 years).

same here. I stopped using IM after college, and I shut down my blog shortly thereafter. I'm 27, and I still have a myspace account, although I never use it anymore, and I've taken down all the pictures, etc. I think web use patterns just change as we get older. People get busy with jobs, family, kids, etc. and no longer have the time or inclination to stay constantly logged on.