|
Internet
Activities
|
||
|
According to our January 2005 survey, 66% of
American adults use the internet. That
currently represents about 133 million people. Here are some of the things they do online: |
Percent of those with internet access |
Most recent survey date |
|
Send e-mail
|
90 |
January 2005 |
|
Use a search engine to find information
|
84 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Search for a map or driving directions
|
84 |
February 2004 |
|
Do an internet search to answer a specific question
|
80 |
Nov-Dec 2003 |
|
Research a product or service before buying it
|
78 |
February 2004 |
|
Check the weather
|
78 |
November 2004 |
|
Look for info on a hobby or interest
|
77 |
November 2004 |
|
Get travel info
|
73 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Get news
|
73 |
January 2005 |
|
Buy a product
|
67 |
November 2004 |
|
Surf the Web for fun
|
66 |
November 2004 |
|
Look for health/medical info
|
66 |
December 2002 |
|
Look for info from a government website
|
66 |
August 2003 |
|
Buy or make a reservation for travel
|
62 |
November 2004 |
|
Go to a website that provides info or support for a specific medical condition or personal situation
|
58 |
November 2004 |
|
Research for school or training
|
57 |
January 2005 |
|
Watch a video clip or listen to an audio clip
|
56 |
November 2004 |
|
Look up phone number or address
|
54 |
February 2004 |
|
Do any type of research for your job
|
51 |
January 2005 |
|
Look for political news/info
|
49 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Get
info online about a college, university or other school you or a family
member might attend |
45 |
January 2005 |
|
Take a virtual tour of a location online
|
45 |
November 2004 |
|
Look for info about a job
|
44 |
January 2005 |
|
Bank online
|
44 |
November 2004 |
|
Get financial info
|
44 |
November 2004 |
|
Check sports scores or info
|
43 |
February 2004 |
|
Download other files such as games, videos, or pictures
|
42 |
June 2003 |
|
Send an instant message
|
42 |
January 2005 |
|
Pay bills online |
38 |
January 2005 |
|
Listen to music online at a website
|
34 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Look for info about a place to live
|
34 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Play online games*
|
32 |
January 2005 |
|
Look for religious/spiritual info
|
30 |
November 2004 |
|
Search for info about someone you know or might meet
|
28 |
September 2002 |
|
Read someone else’s web log or “blog”
|
27 |
January 2005 |
|
Log onto the internet using a wireless device
|
25 |
November 2004 |
|
Chat in a chat room or in an online discussion |
25 |
June-July 2002 |
|
Share files from own computer w/ others
|
24 |
January 2005 |
|
Research your family’s history or genealogy
|
24 |
March-May 2003 |
|
Look for weight loss or general fitness info
|
24 |
January 2002 |
|
Participate in an online auction
|
23 |
February 2004 |
|
Look for info about a mental health issue |
23 |
June-July 2002 |
|
Download music files to your computer
|
22 |
January 2005 |
|
Use internet to get photos developed/display photos
|
21 |
August-October 2001 |
|
Take
material you find online—like songs, text or images—and remix it
into your own artistic creation |
18 |
January 2005 |
|
Create content for the internet
|
19 |
October 2002 |
|
Look for info on something sensitive or embarrassing
|
18 |
June-July 2002 |
|
Visit an adult website
|
15 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Download video files to your computer
|
15 |
January 2005 |
|
Take a class online just for personal enjoyment or enrichment* |
13 |
January 2005 |
|
Make a donation to a charity online
|
13 |
January 2005 |
|
Buy or sell stocks, bonds, or mutual funds
|
13 |
November 2004 |
|
Send or receive an invitation to a meeting or party using an online invitation service
|
12 |
November 2004 |
|
Buy groceries online
|
12 |
March-May 2003 |
|
Take a class online for credit toward a degree
of some kind* |
12 |
January 2005 |
|
Create a web log or “blog”
|
10 |
January 2005 |
|
Go to a dating website or other sites where you can meet other people online
|
9 |
May-June 2004 |
|
Look for info about domestic violence
|
8 |
December 2002 |
|
Make a phone call online
|
7 |
June 2003 |
|
Check e-mail on a hand-held computer
|
5 |
August-October 2001 |
|
Play lottery or gamble online
|
4 |
March-May 2003 |
|
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.
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