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Trend Data

Trend Data

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According to our December 2009 survey, 74% of American adults use the internet . These are some of the things they do online. 

  • If you would like to get information on how use of the internet has changed over time you can download a very large Usage Over Time spreadsheet, which has data stretching back to our early surveys in 2000 for the online activities we measure. The spreadsheet also contains extensive details about user demographics.
  • This data is only for adult Internet users. For information about how teens (ages 12-17) use the Internet, please see our Teens topic page.
  • To see how different generations use the internet, please see this chart of Generational differences in online activities from our Generations 2009 report.

 

Activity

% of
internet
users

Last Asked

Send or read e-mail

89%

Sept-09

Use a search engine to find information

88

Apr-09

Search for a map or driving directions

86

Dec-06

Look for health/medical info~

83

Dec-08

Look for info on a hobby or interest

83

Feb-Mar-07

Look for information online about a service or product you are thinking of buying*

81

Sep-07

Check the weather

76

Apr-09

Buy a product

75

Apr-09

Get news

72

Apr-09

Go online just for fun or to pass the time

72

Apr-09

Buy or make a reservation for travel

66

Apr-09

Watch a video on a video-sharing site like YouTube or Google Video

62

Apr-09

Look online for news or information about politics or the upcoming campaigns*

60

Apr-09

Visit a local, state or federal government website*

59

Nov-08

Look for "how-to," "do-it-yourself" or repair information

59

Aug-08

Do any banking online

57

Apr-09

Research for school or training

57

Jan-05

Look up phone number or address

54

Feb-04

Look online for info about a job*

52

Apr-09

Take a virtual tour of a location online

51

Aug-06

Do any type of research for your job

51

Feb-Mar-07

Use online classified ads or sites like Craig’s list

49

Apr-09

Look for information on Wikipedia

47

Dec-08

Use an online social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn.com*

47

Sept-09

Upload photos to a website so you can share them with others online

46

Aug-08

Get sports scores and info online*

45

Aug-06

Get info online about a college, university or other school you or a family member might attend

45

Jan-05

Search for info about someone you know or might meet

42

Aug-08

Look for info about a place to live*

39

Aug-06

Get financial info online, such as stock quotes or mortgage interest rates

39

Apr-09

Send instant messages

38

Nov-08

Pay bills online

38

Jan-05

Download music files to your computer

37

Dec-07

Play online games*

35

Aug-06

Listen to music online at a website

34

May-Jun-04

Read someone else’s online journal or blog^*

32

Dec-08

Rate a product, service or person using an online rating system

31

Apr-09

Post a comment or review online about a product you bought or a service you received

30

Sep-07

Share something online that you created yourself

30

Sept-09

Listen to a live or recorded radio broadcast online, such as a newscast, sporting event, or radio show

29

May-Jun-04

Look for religious/spiritual info

28

Apr-09

Pay to access or download digital content online*

28

Dec-07

Categorize or tag online content like a photo, news story or blog post

28

Dec-06

Download video files to your computer

27

Dec-07

Participate in an online auction

27

Apr-09

Research your family’s history or genealogy online*

27

Sept-09

Post comments to an online news group, website, blog or photo site

26

Sept-09

Chat in a chat room or in an online discussion

22

Sep-05

Make a donation to a charity online

19

Apr-09

Download a podcast so you can listen to it or view it later*

19

May-08

Use Twitter or other status-update service

19

Sept-09

View live images online of a remote location or person, using a webcam

17

Dec-06

Download or share files using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, such as BitTorrent or LimeWire

15

May-08

Sell something online

15

Aug-06

Create or work on web pages or blogs for others, including friends, groups you belong to, or for work

15

Sept-09

Take material you find online—like songs, text or images—and remix it into your own artistic creation

15

Sept-09

Create or work on your own webpage

14

Sept-09

Make a phone call online*

13

Dec-07

Visit an adult website

13

May-Jun-05

Take a class online just for personal enjoyment or enrichment*

13

Jan-05

Send or receive an invitation to a meeting or party using an online invitation service

12

Nov-04

Take a class online for credit toward a degree of some kind*

12

Dec-05

Create or work on your own online journal or blog*

11

Sept-09

Buy or sell stocks, bonds, or mutual funds

11

Apr-09

Use an online dating website*

8

Sept-09

Participate in an online discussion, a listserv, or other online group forum that helps people with personal issues or health problems*

7

Dec-08

Create or use an avatar or online graphic representation of yourself, for example, in a virtual world such as Second Life*

6

Dec-07

Visit virtual worlds such as Second Life

4

Sept-09

Download or share adult content online

4

May-Jun-05

 

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking surveys (March 2000 – September 2009). Please note that the wording for some items has been abbreviated. For full question wording, please refer to the questionnaire.

While this list contains many of the activities the Pew Internet Project has asked about, it is not a comprehensive list. For a complete list of our activity tracking since 2000 please refer to the Usage Over Time spreadsheet.

* Item wording has changed slightly over time for the items marked with a single asterisk. Please see questionnaires for question wording.
~ Based on a series of questions about specific health topics.

Last updated: December 4, 2009

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DATA POINT

34%

the percentage of American teens who have played a computer or console game at school as part of a school assignment.

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The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center. The Center is supported by The Pew Charitable Trust.