Commentary
Adults Online Grows From 9% in '95 To 77% Today
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 21, 2006
According to the latest Harris Poll, the number of adults who are online at home, in the office, at school, library or other locations continues to grow at a steady rate. In the past year, the number of online users has reached an estimated 172 million, a five percent increase. Harris Interactive calculates that 77 percent of U.S. adults are now online, up from 74 percent in February/April 2005, 66 percent in the spring of 2002, 64 percent in 2001 and 57 percent in spring of 2000. When Harris Interactive first began to track Internet use in 1995, only nine percent of adults reported they went online.
The proportion of adults who are now online at home has risen to 70 percent, up from 66 percent in 2005 and 55 percent in the spring of 2002. The percentage of those online at work has not really changed (35% now, 36% in 2005) yet is still up from 30 percent in the spring of 2002. Adults who are online at a location other than their home or work also remains steady at 22 percent (21% in 2005, 19% in the spring of 2002).
As Internet penetration rises, the demographic profile of Internet users continues to look more like that of the nation as a whole, says the report. However:
- More young than older people, and more affluent than low-income people, are online
- Eight percent of those online are now age 65 or over (compared to 16% of all adults who are 65 or over)
- 39 percent of those online (compared to 47% of all adults) did not go to college
- 14 percent have incomes of less than $25,000 (compared to 19% of all adults)
Trends in Internet Usage Location Since 2000 (base: all adults) | |||||
Online Adults | |||||
%Total | %Online at Home | %Online at Work | %Online at Other Location | Average (Mean) Hours Per Week Spent Online (excluding email) | |
2006 | |||||
February/April | 77 | 70 | 35 | 22 | 9 |
2005 | |||||
February/April | 74 | 66 | 36 | 21 | 9 |
2004 | |||||
June/ August | 73 | 65 | 34 | 17 | 8 |
2003 | |||||
October/December | 69 | 61 | 31 | 16 | 9 |
2002 | |||||
November/December | 67 | 57 | 28 | 18 | 7 |
February/March | 66 | 55 | 30 | 19 | 8 |
2001 | |||||
September/October | 64 | 52 | 28 | 19 | 7 |
March/April | 64 | 53 | 27 | 20 | 7 |
2000 | |||||
October/November | 63 | 49 | 29 | 17 | 7 |
April/May | 57 | 45 | 24 | 15 | 7 |
Source: Harris Poll, April 2006 | |||||
Profile Of Online Population (February-April 2006 Base: All adults) | |||
% Total U.S. Adult Online Population | % Total U.S. Adult Population* | Percentage Point Difference | |
AGE | |||
18 - 29 | 24 | 21 | +3 |
30 - 39 | 22 | 18 | +4 |
40 - 49 | 22 | 20 | +2 |
50+ | 30 | 37 | -7 |
50 - 64 | 22 | 22 | 0 |
65+ | 8 | 16 | -8 |
SEX | |||
Men | 49 | 48 | +1 |
Women | 51 | 52 | -1 |
RACE/ETHNICITY | |||
White | 76 | 75 | +1 |
Black | 10 | 11 | -1 |
Hispanic | 13 | 13 | 0 |
EDUCATION | |||
High school or less | 39 | 47 | -8 |
Some college | 30 | 27 | +3 |
College graduate (or postgraduate) | 30 | 25 | +5 |
HOUSEHOLD INCOME | |||
Less than $25,000 | 14 | 19 | -5 |
$25,000 to less than $50,000 | 23 | 24 | -1 |
$50,000 and over | 52 | 44 | +8 |
*Based on data from the March 2005 U.S. Current Population Survey | |||
Source: Harris Poll, April 2006 | |||
For more data from Harris, please go here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.