Growing online population making Internet 'mass media'
Cyberspace is getting more crowded. Almost 1 in 4 American adults,
about 47 million, have ventured online, a new survey says.
That's up 34%, or 12 million, from a similar survey done by
the same technology research company,IntelliQuest of Austin,
Texas, in April/May 1996.
Don't look for a letup. Another 11.7 million plan to go online
this year, researchers say.
"It is now at a point that so many people have access to (online)
that it is a mass media," says IntelliQuest CEO Peter Zandan.
"How it will ultimately take shape, the business model (and) how
people will end up using it, is unclear. That's what will be
interesting to watch."
Online "users" were defined as those age 16 and older who had
used an online service or an Internet service provider in the
past three months. IntelliQuest conducted its latest survey by
randomly phoning 4,750 households in November/December.
Other findings:
22.3 million log on primarily from home; 13.3 million at work;
6.8 million at school.
About 9%, 4.25 million, are "heavy" users (20 hours or more a week).
About 15%, 7 million, say they bought a product or information
online sometime in the past month.
About 30%, 14.1 million, are in the 25- to 34-year-old age group,
the fastest growing segment of the online population.
Women make up 45% of users. But heavy users were male by 3-1.
Most frequently done functions were Web access (by 88%),
electronic mail (81%), searching for information about a hobby
or personal interest (73%).
Only 43% rated their overall online satisfaction as "excellent"
or "very good."
Margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 points or less.
Regards,
Frank Maris
--------- Internet Marketing & Research,Inc. ----------
Frank Maris http://www.i-m-r.com
fm@i-m-r.com http://www.teen-net.com
(914)666-9800 http://www.countynet.com
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