Project Eagle Research Capsules (PERC) #14
April 2004

Trends in Internet Use from Four Recent
Pew Internet Project Reports

The Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Internet & American Life Project regularly conducts research and produces statistics on various aspects of Internet use. What follows are highlights from four recent and significant reports released since December 2003 that those involved in planning e-learning ventures may find very useful.

America's Online Pursuits:
The Changing Picture of Who's Online and What They Do

An Analysis of Three Years of Data, 2000 - 2003
Released December 22, 2003

• The growth of the online population has slowed in the past two years, with almost no growth over the course of 2002 and only a small one since then. 63% of U. S. adults over 18 and more than 75% of those age 12 -17 now use the Internet.
• High proportions of female Internet users have looked for health or religious information on the Internet, while similar percentages of male users have sought financial information, as well as general, sports, and political news.
• Among minority Internet users, a large portion of African-Americans has done research for school and sought religious and spiritual information.
• English-speaking Hispanic users report high levels of instant messaging and downloading music compared to African-Americans and whites.
• Those from high-income households and those who have college degrees are more likely than those with more modest incomes and education to do a host of things online, including looking for government information, banking online, and participating in online auctions.
• Young users prefer instant messaging and downloading music. Older Internet users are more likely to get health information and seek material at government Web sites.
• Nearly three-quarters of users now have at least three years of experience using the Internet.
• Email is the most popular online activity. About 102 million Americans were email users in December 2002, up 31% from 78 million in March 2000.
• The online population expanded from roughly 86 million in March 2000 to 126 million in August 2003.
• The size of the online population on a typical day grew from 52 million Americans in March 2000 to 66 million in August 2003 - an increase of 27%.
• In March 2000, 49% of American men and 44% of American women were online. By August 2003, the ratio was 65% male, 61% female.
• In August 2003 31% of Internet users who went online from home had broadband.
• About 25% of Americans have never been online, and don't know many others who use the Internet. (Note: many present non-users were users in the past or live in homes with Internet connections.)
• Information-seeking activities have grown across the board since 2000 - most by 50% or more.
• Over half of all Internet users have done research for school or training online - in March 2000 roughly 47 million Americans. By September 2002, that number had grown by 34% to 63 million.
• Those who have done online work or research for their job other than email grew by 45% from March 2000 to November 2002. About 42 million used the Web for work in 2000, up to 61 million in 2002.
• More than eight out of ten Internet users have researched a product or service online. The number of people who have made purchases online has grown by 63% since 2000.
• The number of Americans who go online just to browse for fun or to pass time, has increased by 44% since March 2000. Such use grew from 54 million in March 2000 to 78 million by January 2002.

Rural Areas and the Internet

Results of a National Phone Survey Between March and August 2003
Released February 17, 2004

• Between March and August 2003, 52% of rural residents surveyed used the Internet, compared to 67% of urban residents and 66% of suburban residents.
• Low-income rural residents are less likely to be online than low-income people living in urban or suburban areas. 47% of rural residents have household incomes of $30,000 or less, compared to 29% of suburban and 39% of urban residents. Middle/upper income people in both rural and other areas are equally likely to be Internet users.
• Senior citizens (those 65 and older) account for a relatively larger percentage of the rural population (22%) compared to the urban (14%) and suburban populations (16%). Only about 17% of rural seniors go online, a figure that translates to about 6% of rural Internet users.
• 22% of rural Internet users go online from at least one other place besides work or home. 8% of rural users say they log on exclusively from some place like a library, school, or friend's house. In contrast, 3% of suburban users and 5% of urban users depend on a place other than work or home for their  connection.
• Half of rural residents hold "mixed feelings" toward computers and technology, compared to 32% of urban and 27% of suburban users.

Content Creation Online

Results of a National Phone Survey Between March 12 and May 20, 2003
Released February 29, 2004

• 44% of U. S. Internet users have contributed their thoughts and files to the online world.
• 21% of Internet users have posted photographs to Web sites.
• 17% have posted written material on Web sites.
• 13% maintain their own Web sites.
• 10% have posted comments to an online newsgroup.
• 8% have contributed material to Web sites run by their businesses.
• 7% have contributed material to Web sites run by organizations to which they belong or have Web cams running that allow others to see live pictures of them and their surroundings.
• 6% have posted artwork on Web sites; 5% have contributed audio files to Web sites; 4% have contributed material to Web sites created for their families; 3% have contributed video files to Web sites; 2% maintain Web diaries or Web blogs.

Content creators break into three distinct groups:

• Power creators. Average age - 25. Prefer instant messaging, games, music downloads, blogs.
• Older creators. Average age - 58. Experienced and highly educated users who share pictures, create Web sites, do genealogical research.
• Content omnivores. Average age - 40. Heaviest users; most likely to have broadband.

Older Americans and the Internet

Results of a National Phone Survey Between February 3 and March 1, 2003
Released March 25, 2004

• 22% of Americans age 65 or older (about 8 million) reported having access to the Internet, up from 15% in 2000. (By contrast, 58% age 50-64, 75% age 30-49, and 77% age18-29 currently go online.)
• In 2000, about 60% of wired seniors were men and about 40% women. In February 2004, the gender ratio among wired seniors was 50% men and 50% women - the same the general wired population.
• Online seniors as a group are still made up predominately of white, highly-educated seniors, and those living in households with higher incomes who have Internet access.
• Email is big: 94% of wired seniors have sent or received email, compared to 91% of all Internet users.
• There is a burgeoning group, slightly younger than retirees, who are very attached to the online world. In February 2004, 62% of Americans age 50-58 years-old and 46% of Americans age 59-68 had Internet access. By contrast, just 17% of Americans age 69 and older had access.

www.spjc.edu/eagle/research/perc/perc14.htm
For a list of previous Project Eagle Research Capsules, go to www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/perc/index.htm
For more information, contact the project manager: lechnerj@spcollege.edu

The contents of PERC were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.