A new Harris Poll finds that the
Internet continues to become more useful and more used. While the total
Internet population is rising more slowly than it was in the late 90s, the
proportion of those with broadband is rising much faster (Harris Poll of
January 14, 2004) and more people are using the Internet for a wider variety
of purposes.
Sending or receiving email is still, by a wide margin, the most common
online activity. It is followed by research for work or school, looking for
news including the weather, gathering information about products or services
and looking for information about hobbies or special interest.
These were also the most common online activities three years ago. The
biggest change over the last three years is that among the (now much larger)
online population, the frequency of email use has declined somewhat while
those using the Internet for many other purposes have increased.
These are the results of a nationwide telephone survey conducted by Harris
Interactive between December 10 and 16, 2003 among a sample of 729 adults who
are online from home, work, school, library or other location. In total, 69%
of U.S. adults are now online.
The proportions of those online who use the Internet “very often” or
“often” for the most common activities are, in descending order of use:
-- Sending or receiving email (67%)
-- Doing research for work or school (45%)
-- Getting information about products and services (41%)
-- Getting information about hobbies or special interests (36%)
-- Checking news, weather, etc. (40%)
-- Surfing the web to explore new and different sites (32%)
-- Shopping online (22%)
-- Obtaining information on local amusements and activities (19%)
-- Paying bills (18%)
-- Downloading or playing games (18%)
-- Financial management and investing (15%)
-- Making travel plans or arrangements (15%)
-- Obtaining information about health or disease (15%)
Biggest changes in the last three years
Given that the number of people who are online has increased over the last
three years (from 63% in 2000 to 69% by December 2003), the numbers of people
doing all of the activities on the list has increased also. And the
percentages of those online who are doing most of these activities often have
also increased. The biggest increases are in the percentages of online adults
who are doing each of the following “very often” or “often”:
-- Gathering information about products and services: up from 25% to 41%
-- Doing research for work or school: up from 37% to 45%
-- Surfing the web to explore new and different sites: up from 24% to 32%
-- Obtaining information on local amusements and activities: up from
11% to 19%
-- Downloading or playing games: up from 13% to 18%
-- Making travel plans and arrangements: up from 11% to 15%.
Several other activities which have probably increased since 2000 were not
included in our survey three years ago, so we do not know how much they have
grown. These include the 22% of all adults online who shop online “very often”
or “often,” pay bills (18%), download music (10%), and search for jobs (10%).
TABLE 1
FREQUENCY OF USING INTERNET FOR 19 DIFFERENT PURPOSES
"Thinking about what you do online, how often do you use the Internet, the
World Wide Web or an online service . . . . - very often, often, sometimes,
rarely, or never?"Base: Adult online users
Very Often Some- Rarely Never Not Sure/
Often times Decline
to Answer
To send or
receive email % 37 31 15 8 9 *
To do research
for work or
school % 19 26 21 10 24 1
To check on news
updates,
weather, etc. % 17 24 26 14 20 -
To gather
information
about products
and services % 14 27 32 10 17 1
To get information
about a hobby
of special
interest % 11 25 33 15 16 *
To surf to
explore new
and different
sites % 8 24 33 19 16 1
To shop online % 7 15 21 20 36 1
To pay bills % 6 12 12 9 60 *
To obtain
information on
local amusements
and activities % 6 13 31 24 25 1
To download or
play games % 5 13 16 15 49 1
For financial
management and
investing % 6 10 15 17 53 1
To make travel
plans and
reservations % 3 12 27 25 33 *
To obtain
information
about health
or diseases % 5 10 35 21 29 1
To find and
download
software % 4 6 17 26 47 *
To search for
a job % 2 7 12 17 61 1
To take courses % 2 4 8 10 75 *
To participate in
chat groups % * 4 7 13 74 1
To make phone
calls % 2 1 5 4 87 1Note: * = Less than 0.5%.
TABLE 2
CHANGES IN FREQUENT USE OF INTERNET FOR 19 DIFFERENT PURPOSES
"Thinking about what you do online, how often do you use the Internet, the
World Wide Web or an online service . . . . - very often, often, sometimes,
rarely, or never?"Base: Adult online users
Use "Very Often" or "Often"
Dec. Dec. Percentage
2003 2000 Point
Increase/
Decrease
2000 - 2003To send or receive email 67% 74% -7
To do research for work or school 45% 37% +8
To check on news updates,
weather, etc. 40% 38% +2
To gather information about
products and services 41% 25% +16
To get information about a hobby
of special interest 36% 34% +2
To surf to explore new and
different sites 32% 24% +8
To shop online 22% N/A N/A
To pay bills 18% N/A N/A
To obtain information on local
amusements and activities 19% 11% +8
To download or play games 18% 13% +5
For financial management and
investing 15% 14% +1
To make travel plans and
reservations 15% 11% +4
To obtain information about
health or diseases 15% 13% +2
To find and download software 10% N/A N/A
To search for a job 10% N/A N/A
To take courses 6% 3% +3
To participate in chat groups 5% 6% -1
To make phone calls 3% N/A N/A
