Daily Internet Activities

 

According to our January 2005 survey, 58% of American adult internet users, about 77 million people, use the internet on an average day.

 

Here are some of the things they do on a typical day:

 

Percent of

internet users who report doing this “yesterday”

Most recent

survey date

 

Go online

 

 

58

 

January 2005

 

Send e-mail

 

 

49

 

January 2005

 

Get news

 

 

31

 

January 2005

 

Use a search engine to find information

 

 

30

 

May-June 2004

 

Check the weather

 

 

22

 

November 2004

 

Do an internet search to answer a specific question

 

 

21

 

Nov-Dec 2003

 

 Surf the Web for fun

 

 

21

 

November 2004

 

Look for info on a hobby or interest

 

 

20

 

 

November 2004

 

Do any type of research for your job

 

 

20

 

January 2005

 

 Research for school or training

 

 

16

 

January 2005

 

Bank online

 

 

15

 

January 2005

 

Research a product or service before buying it

 

 

15

 

February 2004

 

Send an instant message

 

 

14

 

January 2005

 

Look for political news/info

 

 

13

 

May-June 2004

 

Check sports scores and info

 

 

11

 

February 2004

 

Log onto the internet using a wireless device

 

 

10

 

November 2004

 

Watch a video clip or listen to an audio clip 

 

 

10

 

November 2004

 

Play online games*

 

 

9

 

January 2005

 

Look for info from a government website

 

 

9

 

June 2003

 

Get financial info

 

 

8

 

November 2004

 

Get travel info

 

 

8

 

May-June 2004

 

Pay bills online

 

 

7

 

January 2005

 

Look for info about a job

 

 

7

 

January 2005

 

Read someone else’s web log or “blog

 

 

7

 

January 2005

 

Look up phone number or address

 

 

7

 

February 2004

 

Search for a map or driving directions

 

 

7

 

February 2004

 

Buy a product

 

 

6

 

November 2004

 

Look for health/medical info

 

 

6

 

December 2002

 

Listen to music online at a website

 

 

6

 

May-June 2004

 

Download other files such as games, videos, or pictures

 

 

6

 

June 2003

 

Go to a website that provides info or support for a specific medical condition or personal situation

 

 

5

 

November 2004

 

Share files from own computer w/ others

 

 

5

 

January 2005

 

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

 

 

4

 

January 2005

 

Create content for the internet

 

 

4

 

October 2002

 

Chat in a chat room or in an online discussion

 

 

4

 

June-July 2002

 

Download music files to your computer

 

 

4

 

January 2005

 

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

 

 

3

 

January 2005

 

Look for info about a place to live 

 

 

3

 

May-June 2004

 

Buy or make a reservation for travel 

 

 

3

 

November 2004

 

Participate in an online auction

 

 

3


February 2004

 

Download video files to your computer

 

 

3

 

January 2005

 

 Look for religious/spiritual info

 

 

3

 

November 2004

 

Search for info about someone you know or might meet

 

 

3

 

September 2002

 

Look for weight loss or general fitness info

 

 

3

 

January 2002

 

Create a web log or “blog

 

 

2

 

January 2005

 

Go to a dating website or other sites where you can meet other people online

 

 

2

 

May-June 2004

 

Take a class online just for personal enjoyment or enrichment*

 

 

2

 

January 2005

 

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

 

 

2

 

January 2005

 

Buy groceries online

 

 

1

 

March-May 2003

 

Visit an adult website

 

 

1

 

May-June 2004

 

Buy or sell stocks, bonds, or mutual funds

 

 

1

 

November 2004

 

Look for info about a mental health issue

 

 

1

 

June-July 2002

 

Play lottery or gamble online

 

1

 

March-May 2003

 

Use internet to get photos developed/display photos

 

 

1

 

August-October 2001

 

Check e-mail on a hand-held computer

 

 

1

 

August-October 2001

 

Research your family’s history or genealogy 

 

 

1

 

March-May 2003

 

Take a virtual tour of a location online

 

 

**

 

November 2004

 

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

 

 

**

 

November 2004

 

Make a phone call online

 

 

**

 

June 2003

 

Make a donation to a charity online

 

 

**

 

January 2005

 

Look for info about domestic violence

 

 

**

 

December 2002

 

Look for info on something sensitive or embarrassing

 

 

**

 

June-July 2002

 

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project Tracking surveys (March 2000 – January 2005). Please note that the wording for some items has been abbreviated. For full question wording, please refer to the questionnaire.

 

* Prior to January 2005, item wording was slightly different for the items marked with an asterisk.

 

**Percentage of internet users who do these activities on a typical day is less than 1%

 

Last updated: March 2, 2005

 

 

NOTE: If you followed an outside link to get to this page, please refer to the Latest Trends section of our website to ensure that you are viewing the most recent version of this table:  http://www.pewinternet.org/trends.asp