Forbes Insights in collaboration with Google has released a new study regarding how top-level executives use Internet tools. The findings show that the Internet is the primary source of business information but how much and for what purpose it is being used varies with age and work experience. The study surveyed 354 C-level and top-level executives working in the US in large companies with sales of more than $1 billion annually.

“The common perception is that top executives at the largest companies do not use the Internet, but the reality is just the opposite,” said Stuart Feil, editorial director of Forbes Insights. “These findings show that C-level executives are more involved online than their counterparts, and younger generations of executives – those whose work careers have coincided with the growth of the PC and the Internet – are bringing profound organizational change to these companies.”

Of those surveyed 74 percent hold the Internet as the most important resource dominating over other sources like colleagues, personal networks, trade publications and so on. Furthermore, 70 percent of them read “traditional print media” online rather than the paper version while 69 percent view “traditional broadcast media” on the Internet and not on TV.

When it comes to decision making, 53 percent of C-level executives find information themselves rather than delegating it while only 40 percent of top-level executives do the same. Search engines are the most valued source of information online with 63 percent of respondents considering them “very valuable.” The number of daily searches varies by age, with 73 percent of the executives under 40 doing six or more searches while the overall percentage is lower, at 60 percent. Of those under forty, 39 percent make 20 or more business-related searches every day, compared to only 19 percent overall.