• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 21, 2004

Internet Users Don't Have to be Home

Hotels, airports, Starbucks and many other public locations are making it convenient for Internet users to go online away from home and work. The Pew Internet & American Life Project has found that 23% of adult U.S. Internet users have gone online from a place other than home or work...close to 30 million people. More than half of Internet users go online in multiple places

On any given day more than 4 million Americans are accessing the Internet from some place other than home or work, reports Paul Harwood, Research Associate (University of North Florida), and Lee Rainie, Director. On a typical day, they say, more than half the people accessing the Internet from a "third place" are between ages 18-24. Students are the anywhere, anytime users of the Internet.

On any given day, 27% of those who use the Internet go online in at least two places. At the same time, a portion of Internet users depend completely on these other places because these locales are the exclusive providers of their online connection.

64% of American adults use the Internet...128 million people. Some 88% of them have a home connection to the Internet. On a given day, 79% of the 69 million American adults who are online are using a home-based connection to the Net. The PEW surveys show that 51% of all online users access the Net while at work. 40% of those connecting to the Internet on a typical day log on from work.

Where Americans Use The Internet

Home only	36%
Work only	7%
Another place only	3%
Home and work	34%
Home and another place other than work	10%
Work and another place other than home	2%
Home and work and another place	8%

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project surveys

Nearly half those between 18-24 years old report they have accessed the Internet from another place. 26% of the users between 25-34 go online in places like libraries, friend's and neighbor's homes, relative's homes and cyber cafes. Only 10% of Internet users age 65 years and older have ever gone online from place other than their home.

3rd Place Users

	% of 3rd Place Users	% of Overall Internet Population Who Use 3rd Place
Men	54%	21%
Women	46%	19%
Race/ethnicity
Whites	78%	19%
Blacks	7%	23%
Hispanics	9%	23%
Other	7%	30%
Age
18-24	32%	48%
25-34	24%	21%
35-44	20%	16%
45-54	14%	13%
55-64	8%	15%
65+	3%	10%
Household income
Less than $30,000	22%	28%
$30,000-$50,000	28%	22%
$50,000-$75,000	17%	17%
$75,000 +	33%	18%
Employment status
Employed full or part time	77%	23%
Not employed	23%	20%
Education level
Did not graduate from HS	8%	45%
High school grad	18%	16%
Some college	37%	26%
College degree +	38%	17%
Type of home connection
Dial up	68%
Broadband	32%

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project March-May 2003 survey.