De Simoni, Anna, et al. "Making sense of patients’ internet forums: a systematic method using discourse analysis." British Journal of General Practice 64.620 (2014): e178-e180.

A 2008 survey in the UK showed that the internet was accessed by 79% of men and 75% of women, with usage extending to 72% of those aged 55–64 and 32% of those aged 65 and above. The growing availability of freely accessible internet data provides valuable opportunities for research, especially for reaching hard-to-access groups who might be excluded from traditional studies.