• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 2, 2003

The Internet Is A Mainstream Information Tool For 97% of All Users

A recently released Pew Internet report shows that most Americans expect to find key information online, and many turn to the Internet first! With over 60% of Americans now having Internet access, the report says, and 40% of Americans having been online for more than three years, the Internet has become a mainstream information tool. Its popularity and dependability have raised all Americans’ expectations about the information and services available online.

Although it is difficult to pinpoint when the Internet began to create expectations among all Americans about the availability of online information, Pew Internet Project researchers found in late 2000 that some people who came to the community center to pick up Internet skills wanted to know about the CD-ROMs they were receiving in the mail and what the Internet was all about. Then, in 2002, Pew Internet researchers found that very new Internet users quickly embraced the Internet for sophisticated applications such as filling medicine prescriptions online.

A more important reason for rising expectations about the Internet-as-information-utility, according to the report, has to do with the growing ranks of veteran Internet users. At the end of 1999 only about one-third of Internet users had been online for three years or more. In September 2002, 68% of Internet users said they have been online for three or more years; 38% say they have been online six years or more. The upshot is more information online and more experienced users searching for it with greater ability to separate the wheat from the chaff.

A final piece of the picture is, for many Internet users, trusted online sources and tools. “Google” was a word that would have elicited a raised eyebrow among Americans a few years ago. Today, the popular search engine is, according to comScore Media Metrix, the fourth rated Internet property (in terms of unique visitors).

Here is how Americans line up when probed about specific topics and whether they think the Internet will satisfy their information needs, says the report:

For information or services from a government agency, 65% of all Americans expect the Web to have that information; 82% of Internet users say this and 39% of non-users say this.

In the realm of electronic commerce, 63% of all Americans expect that a business will have a Web site that gives them information about a product they are considering buying. Four out of five (79%) of Internet users say this and 38% of non-users say this.

For news, 69% of Americans expect to be able to find reliable, up-to-date news online; 85% of Internet users say this, compared with 43% of non-Internet users.

For health care information, 67% of Americans expect that they can find reliable information about health or medical conditions online; 81% of Internet users say this versus 45% of non-Internet users.

Overall, 84% of all Americans have an expectation of finding information online in at least one of these four topical areas. That translates into nearly all Internet users (97%) and most non-Internet users (64%).

58% of Internet users say they will go online next time they need government information; this compares will 28% who say they will use the telephone. When all Americans are asked this, 39% of all American say they will go online. This is about the same share (37%) that says they will call.

For business, online presence is important, regardless of whether a business actually sells its wares over the Internet. If a store provides product information online, even if it doesn’t sell products at its Web site, nearly half of all Americans (46%) said this would make them more likely to go to the physical store to buy the product. About the same number (45%) said it would make no difference, and these numbers were the same for Internet users and non-users alike.

For the complete report look here.