America's Online Pursuits: The changing picture of who's online and what they do
12/22/2003 | 
Report | Mary Madden Lee Rainie
Online activity has consistently grown over the course of our
research. Internet users discover more things to do online as they gain
experience and as new applications become available. This momentum often
fuels increasing reliance on the Internet in everyday life and higher
expectations about the things people can do online. Despite this growth in
activity, the growth of the online population itself has slowed. There was
almost no growth over the course of 2002 and there has been only a small
uptick in recent months to leave the size of the online U.S. adult
population at 63% of all those 18 and over.
Different people use the Internet in different ways. The report is full of
examples of how people in different demographic groups use the Internet for
different purposes. Experience and the quality of online connections matter.
Those with more experience online and those who have high-speed connections
at home generally do more online more often than those with lower levels of
experience and those with dial-up connections. The growth of the cohort of
veteran users, those with at least three years of online experience, has
been striking. Nearly three-quarters of Internet users have at least three
years of experience.
Online Americans' experience with the commercial side of the Internet has
expanded dramatically in spite of the economic slump. Financial and
transaction activities such as online banking and online auctions have grown
more than any other genre of activity. Still, email continues to be the
"killer app" of the Internet. More people use email than do any other
activity online. Many report their email use increases their communication
with key family and friends and enhances their connection to them.
Other Online Activities & Pursuits Resources
Report | Online Shopping
Memo | Increased Use of Video-sharing Sites
Report | Information Searches That Solve Problems
Memo | Hobbyists Online
Report | Wikipedia users
Related Topic Areas
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