• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 31, 2005

A new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, written by PIP Senior Research Fellow Deborah Fallows, finds that email users are receiving slightly more spam than before, but they are minding it less. Fewer email users now say that spam is undermining their trust in email. And, while more than half of internet users still consider spam to be a big problem, the ill effects of spam on email habits and the overall internet experience have declined.

Though pornographic email has declined, 35% of email users now report they have received unsolicited email requesting personal financial information, a spamming technique known as "phishing."

some of the statistical highlights include:

• 52% of internet users consider spam a big problem
• 28% of users with a personal email account say they are getting more spam than a year ago, while 22% say they are getting less.
• 21% of users with a work email account say they are getting more spam than a year ago, while 16% say they are getting less.
• 53% of email users say spam has made them less trusting of email, compared to 62% a year ago.
• 22% of email users say that spam has reduced their overall use of email, compared to 29% a year ago.
• 67% of email users say spam has made being online unpleasant or annoying, compared to 77% a year ago.
• 63% of email users say they have received porn spam, compared to 71% who said that a year ago.
• 35% of email users say they have received unsolicited email requesting personal financial information.

Men and women were equally likely to say spam was reducing their email use in 2003. By January, 2005, 25% of women said this, compared to 20% of men, a significant difference.

Finally, 18-29 year olds have traditionally been the most tolerant and least bothered by spam. In 2003, 45% of the youngest users reported a loss of trust in email. That rose to 56% in 2004, and dropped back to 45% (and 55% for older users) in 2005.

Read the PDF Report here