A new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 69 percent of adults in the U.S. have logged onto the Web for information about bargains, jobs, housing and government benefits, among other things.

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Ten years ago, the norm was going through newspaper circulars and magazines to find coupons. “But this is all online now — consumers are more educated now, in terms of bargain hunting and comparison shopping online — it's so much faster,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Washington-based Pew Internet and American Life Project, and co-author of the study. “Consumers can also do it out of the context of local merchants. They don't depend on what's for sale two miles away, because they can find alternatives on the other side of the country.”

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“One of the hallmarks of this era of the Internet that distinguishes it from five years ago, is that it's become a starting point for people that are trying to solve their problems,” Rainie said. “In this day and age, people turn to the Internet to address the needs that they have for the context in which they find themselves. Right now, there's broad, wide-ranging information available for those who have been affected during the recession.”

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