The sophisticated ability to communicate is a uniquely human trait. Thanks to technology, the options (and sophistication) just keep rising. Continuing improvements through the years in both methods and techniques have significantly facilitated personal relations and business activities.
With technological advancements speeding up the process and with more and more people taking advantage of myriad opportunities available via the Internet, communication has dramatically changed. Today, messages can be sent and received almost instantaneously practically anywhere in the world.
According to a Harris Interactive poll released earlier this week, about 77% of the adults in the US (172 million) are now online at home, at work, or elsewhere. That’s considerably higher than the 57% in 2000 and phenomenal expansion beyond the 9% who were using the Internet 10 years ago. Some 52.2% of households in the US with Internet access use broadband. Within two years, that percentage will likely rise to nearly 69%.
The number of Internet users worldwide is approaching 845 million and, although the US has more Internet users than any other nation, China is quickly moving up from its second place position with over 111 million users. The current number of Internet broadband users around the world is close to 200 million or about 23% of total Internet users. Broadband use is predicted to reach 477 million by 2011.
Some 70% of adults online have access at home, compared to 66% in this category last year and 55% in the spring of 2002. Online availability at work is 35%, which is about the same as last year, but a moderate hike over the 30% in 2002. The percentage of adults who obtain access to the Internet at places other than home or work is approximately 22%, slightly above the 19% in 2002.
Caucasians dominate the usage at 76%, followed by Hispanics at 13%, and African-Americans at 10%. Approximately 51% of the users are female; close to the 52% of the total population which is female.
Nearly four out of every 10 users have only a high school diploma or less and about 30% have completed college. Some 52% of those with Internet access have an annual household income of $50,000 or more, while 14% of households make less than $25,000 per year.
About 24% of adult Internet users fall in the 18-29 age bracket. Around 30% of adults online are above 50 years of age, and 8% of users are 65 years and older.
A Pew Internet and American Life Project study recently noted that use of the Internet varies widely across the continental US and ranges from 68% of adult residents in the Pacific Northwest to 48% in the central Southern states. About 60% of the residents in the border states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona have online access. Rural Internet users are considerably less active than those who live in suburban or urban areas.
Some 93% of Internet sites used by employees while at work are directly related to their responsibilities, but many other sites are also accessed. The other most popular sites visited by users at work are map, news, and weather sites. Government, educational, banking, and travel follow with personal e-mail and shopping rounding out the top 10. On any given day, more than 50 million Americans get their news updates online.
A significant amount of Internet users’ time—whether at work, home, or other locations—is devoted to social enrichment and self-improvement sites. This kind of activity has enabled the top 10 social networking sites collectively to grow 47% from April 2005 to April 2006 and reach 68.8 million.
Some 30% of total Internet users in the US log on for no specific reason. They just use the technology to pass time and have fun.
The Nielson/Net Ratings indicate that of the top three Internet search engines, Google remains the most popular with nearly 50% (2.7 million) of total searches performed in April. Yahoo! had 22%, and MSN had 11%. Year-to-year growth in April was 34% for Google, compared to 27% for Yahoo! and a 10% hike for MSN.
High speed communication has seemingly shrunk the world, and the virtual shrinkage will likely be sustained as more and more people continue to accept newer advances and better ways to communicate.