More than three-quarters of U.S. adults go online, Harris poll reports
The number of U.S. adults who go online is steadily increasing, with more than 172 million online, up 5% from 164 million in 2005, according to a new poll from Harris Interactive. That represents about 77% of U.S. adults, up from 74% in 2005.
When Harris first began tracking Internet use in 1995, only 9% of adults reported they went online.
Harris based its estimates on a telephone survey of 2,032 U.S. adults in February and April.
The proportion of U.S. adults going online at home rose to 70%, up from 66% in 2005 and 55% in 2002. However, the number of those going online at work is relatively unchanged at 35%, down from 36% last year but up from 30% in 2002.
Adults who are online at locations other than their homes or work remains steady at 22%, compared with 21% in 2005 and 19% in 2002.
As Internet penetration increases, the demographic profile of Internet users is continuing to look more like the nation as a whole, Harris said. 8% of those online are ages 65 or over, compared to 16% of all U.S. adults who are 65 or older; 39% did not go to college, compared to 47% of all adults; and 14% have incomes less than $25,000, compared to 19% of all adults.
The average time spent online per week—9 hours—was unchanged from 2005, according to the poll.
Back...
