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Study: Internet Gaining Millions of New Users: Is a Technology That Users Value More Than Television, Mobile Phones

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By Justin Boggs, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif., Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

Dec. 28--VICTORVILLE -- Millions of Americans who were not using the Internet at the turn of the century are doing so now, according a new study.

In 2005, 78.6 percent of Americans spent an average of 13.3 hours a week online -- the highest number seen in the Digital Future Project, a year-to-year study conducted by the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. The study began in 2000. More and more Americans continue to bring the Internet into their homes and increasingly use a high-speed connection. The number of Americans with an Internet connection in their homes rose to 66.2 percent, up almost 20 percent from 2000. "The Internet has truly matured across all segments of American society," said Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. "Our study reflects five years of exploring the digital domain that is yielding extraordinary findings of how the Internet continues to change America." The Internet is the technology Americans seem to value above cell phones and television. When asked which technology they would be most willing to part with, 40 percent of Internet users said they would choose their cell phone, followed by 33 percent who would prefer to give up television. Only 28 said they would give up the Internet. "If I had to give up one form of technology ... it would probably be television," said Jon Schaaf, 18, of Victorville. "I don't know if I could do without the cell phone." E-mail continues to be the most popular feature of the Internet. The study found that 90 percent of Internet users have an e-mail address -- meaning that 70 percent of Americans now use e-mail. Forty percent of e-mail users check their inbox several times a day. "I have it set up so that I get an alert on my cell phone when a new e-mail hits my Hotmail account," Schaaf said. The use of instant messages is also on the rise. Of those who use IMs, 61 percent report carrying on simultaneous chats -- an increase of 8 percent since 2003. Most of those who chat to multiple people at once were under the age of 18. On the downside, a small but a growing number of parents and legal guardians say their children are spending too much time using the Internet. Nineteen percent of adults said their children spent too much time on the Internet, while 72 percent said the amount of time their kids spent online was appropriate. "Sometimes I'm tempted to disable the computer and tell him (my son) I didn't pay the bill," said Gloria Van Strom of Apple Valley. "He can use it all he wants for homework. It's the computer games 'til midnight that make me crazy. Has anyone seen my son?" From Here: -- Back to today's news -- News Archive -- Join the discussion at the community forum

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Copyright (c) 2005, Daily Press, Victorville, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Daily Press - Victorville, California

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