Nielsen: Kids spending more time online

(AP) -- The number of young kids online is growing faster than their parents and older siblings.

A new study from Nielsen Online finds that nearly 16 million U.S. children ages 2 to 11 were online in May. They made up about 9.5 percent of Internet users.

In the past five years, Nielsen says, the number of kids online has grown by 18 percent, compared with just a 10 percent growth among all Internet users. And this growth comes as the total number of U.S. kids under 14 is declining.

Nielsen says boys spent 7 percent more time online than girls, but girls viewed 9 percent more Web pages than boys did in May 2009.

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