INTERNET USAGE HAS DOUBLED
A study by CommerceNet and Nielsen Media Research concludes that
Internet use has more than doubled in the last 18 months, from 10%
to 23% of all persons in the U.S. and Canada over age 16. A Nielsen
executive says: "Not that long ago, the people using the Web tended
to be a rather homogeneous group -- young, upscale and rather well
educated. The big gains that we're seeing now are coming from
outside that group." (Washington Post 13 Mar 97)
Among the the latest study's highlights made available to the press:
23% of persons 16 or older living in U.S. and Canada have used the Net
in the last month. Roughly a fifth of that 23% are Web users, up from
the 8% estimated in that controversial 1995 study. The study also found
that 42% of Internet users are women. In addition, Nielsen concluded
that roughly 5.6 million people in the U.S. and Canada have bought
something on the Web in the last year.