The survey - conducted by the Ipsos-Reid Corporation, a marketing research firm 0 was based on interviews last spring with 6,600 adults in 12 countries, in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The results were released last week. The survey found that 54 percent of the population in the countries surveyed, on average, indicated that they had gone online at least once over the previous 30 days. In the United States, 72 percent of those surveyed were recent Internet users, up from 59 percent in 2000. Canada was second at 62 percent, up from 60 percent in 2000. Rounding out the top five were South Korea, 53 percent, up from 45 percent; Britain, 50 percent, up from 35 percent; and Japan, 47 percent, up from 33 percent.
A recent report by Telecommunications Reports International, a Washington research firm, said the number of residential Internet customers declined 0.3 percent last quarter, to 68.5 million. It was the first such decline since the company began tracking online use in 1980, when it monitored users of the Source and MicroNet, a predecessor of CompuServe.
Indeed, while the number of subscribers to free Internet services dropped 19 percent, to 10.3 million, in the first three months of this year, the number of paid Internet users increased. Paid dial-up Internet providers added nearly 8 percent in subscribers in the period, while cable modem providers added 18 percent, and digital subscriber line, or D.S.L., services added 2 percent.
According to Jupiter Media Metrix, those with Internet connections both at home and at work spent an average of 19 hours a month on the Web in January, an increase of 18 minutes from October. Those with Web access only at work used it about 14 hours a month in January, a decrease of 19 minutes from October. But those with only home connections spent 15 hours a month in January, an increase of 27 minutes.
FASTER CONNECTIONS CAUSE NEW DIVIDE -- Recent numbers from Nielsen//NetRatings reveal that more people are using the Internet than ever before. In January, 162.8 million U.S. citizens had home Internet access, up from 122.7 million in January 2000, a 33 percent rise. The falling cost of PCs and Internet access is the most likely cause of the increase. However, while the economics of Internet access are changing, a divide still exists. "Now, it's not so much a digital divide as a connectivity divide," explained T.S. Kelly of Nielsen//NetRatings. Only 13.1 percent of U.S. Internet users have high-speed connections, including DSL and cable modems, although that is an increase from last year's 6.8 percent. The gap means that relatively few U.S. users can enjoy the latest Internet features such as streaming video and audio at peak quality. Nielsen//NetRatings has also found that the online activities of U.S. users are changing, especially now that almost as many women as men are users. Health sites, online greeting cards, and instant messaging are popular with female users, Nielsen//NetRatings reports, while news, stock reports, and sports information remain popular with men. (USA Today, 19 March 2001)
(Oct. 25, 2000) -- According to the Internet Industry Almanac the U.S. has an overwhelming lead in Internet users with almost 40 percent of the total 280M Internet users at year-end 1999. However, the U.S. is only ranked 4th in Internet users per capita. Canada is the per-capita leader with nearly 43 percent of the population being regular Internet users. We define an Internet User as any person over 16 who uses the Internet on a regular basis at least once a month. These numbers include business, educational and home Internet users. The Internet Industry Almanac projects that the U.S will have over 165M Internet users or 27 percent of the total 601M worldwide Internet users in year 2002. The U.S. is forecasted to grow to 592 Internet users per 1,000 people in 2002. Top 15 Countries in Internet Usage Per Capita1999 Rank (1997 Rank) Country 1. (7) Canada 428.20 2. (8) Sweden 414.15 3. (1) Finland 408.04 4. (4) United States 406.49 5. (3) Iceland 403.46 6. (10) Denmark 395.97 7. (2) Norway 379.59 8. (5) Australia 343.27 9. (9) Singapore 310.77 10. (6) New Zealand 264.90 11. (13) Netherlands 255.55 12. (11) Switzerland 245.80 13. (12) United Kingdom 236.41 14. (NR) Taiwan 216.82 15. (14) Hong Kong 212.91 Total Top 15 Countries: 328.16 Total Worldwide: 46.75There are currently 9 countries with over 300 Internet users per 1,000 people. By year-end 2002 there will be 14 more countries where over 30% of the population will be Internet users: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan and South Korea. The rankings are based on September 2000 estimates. Internet Industry Almanac: www.c-i-a.com
Odyssey said 42 percent of U.S. households now have PCs, compared with 39 percent six months ago, and 37 percent one year ago. ... Research firm Computer Intelligence reported in January that systems priced below $1, 000 accounted for 32.2 percent of the desktop units sold within the United States by retail in November 1997, up from a mere 7. 2 percent in January 1997. n the same period, personal computers priced above $1,500 dropped to 24.8 percent of the market, from 59.3 percent.
Twenty-three percent of U.S. households are now online, up from 17 percent a year ago, the study showed.
[According to Strategis] ... users are almost evenly distributed between the sexes, are likely to have a college degree, and have an average annual income of $54,000. Almost 80 percent of all users access the Internet from their homes, while 60 percent access the Net at work. In total, users spend an average of 8.5 hours per week online.
... the nearly 40 percent of American households with personal computers. Of those households, 48 percent are on line.
The "1997 American Internet User Survey" concludes that, as of last month, 27.7 million adults are users of the Internet in the United States. The study defines an Internet user as anyone who uses at least one application besides e-mail. If you include the "e-mail only" crowd, there are 31. 3 million adult users. Further, based on the findings, it predicts that by year's end there will be 36.3 million adult users (at least one application besides e-mail).
... 28 percent of adult users said the Internet was very indispensable. An additional 45 percent concluded the Internet is somewhat indispensable. A number approaching two-thirds of all adult Internet users (59 percent) is using e-mail on a DAILY basis (up from 47 percent in 1995.) Further, nearly half (49 percent) of all adults on the Internet use the Web on a daily basis (up from 36 percent in 1995). 89 percent use e-mail at least weekly.
And the Web is ... commanding the attention of 88 percent of adult users at least on a weekly basis.
While mixed use for both personal and business is most common (50 percent use for both), 88 percent of all users use the Internet for personal reasons (up from 52 percent in 1995) while 56 percent use the Internet for business reasons (up from 35 percent in 1995).
The study concludes that 63 percent pay personally (up from 39 percent in 1995), while 37 percent of users have their accounts subsidized (usually by an employer -- this is down from 61 percent in 1995).
69 percent of users saying they use an ISP; 34 percent of all users using AOL.
- 20-25% of US adults (about 51 mio. people) have Internet access
- 10-15% are regular users
- average annual household income: $50-60k, $34k median for overall population
- 40-60% have college degrees (overall: 21%)
- 35-40% women