Harris poll: U.S. Internet use increasing

Jake Widman
Thursday, 24 December 2009 08:50

Your IT - Home IT

According to a survey by Harris Interactive, 80% of U.S. adults are online -- much the same as in the previous two years -- but online time is up to an average of 13 hours a week.

The survey of 2,029 U.S. adults found that the number of people online has remained steady -- 80% for 2009, 81% for 2008, 79% for 2007.

In round numbers, that's about 184 million.

But time spent has stayed near last year's peak -- 13 hours a week average this year compared to 14 last, up from 11 in 2007 and 9 in 2006. Last year, of course, featured a hotly contested presidential election to drive up traffic.

The highest average time spent online is by 30-39-year-olds, at 18 hours a week. People in their 20s and 40s average 17; the lowest figure is for those 65 and over, who average 8 hours a week online.

The number of people who had bought something online in the previous month was equally split overall. But again, the 30-39-year-olds were the most likely to say yes, at 62%, while about the same proportion of the youngest and oldest groups answered no.

The number of people who use the Internet from home continues to rise as well, up to 76% this year compared to 75 last and 72 in 2007. Ten years ago, only 46% of U.S. adults were online, spending an average of 7 hours a week.

There's also a measurable proportion of people using PCs who aren't online at all: 2% of computer users report not using the Internet from work, home, school, or anywhere else.