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More people have access to Internet but digital divide persists, says study
Melinda Patterson Grenier
The number of people with access to the Internet continues to grow, although the oldest and poorest adults still lag behind those who are younger and wealthier, according to a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. An estimated 104 million or 56 per cent of American adults said they have gone online to access the Internet or the Web or to send and receive e-mail messages. This data, based on a survey taken between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, is an 18.2 per cent increase from the results of a survey taken in May and June, 2000, when 88 million or 47 per cent of adults said they have gone online. Women represent a slightly larger share of the Internet population than men - 50.6 per cent to 49.4 per cent - even though 58 per cent of men said they have gone online, compared with 54 per cent of women. (There are more women in the US than men, which is why their lower percentage translates into a higher number.) The digital divide between the highest- and lowest-income families appearsto be narrowing: An estimated 38 per cent of adults in households making less than $30,000 a year said they had Internet access in the November-December survey, a jump of 10 percentage points from 28 per cent in May-June. But the percentages for these adults are still well below those for adults in households making more than $75,000 a year: 82 per cent in the November-December survey and 79 per cent in May-June. A gap also persists among ethnic groups: 57 per cent of white adults in the November-December survey said they have gone online, compared with 47 per cent of Hispanic adults and 43 per cent of black adults. The figures for minorities do reflect an increase from the May-June survey, however, when 40 per cent of Hispanics and 35 per cent of blacks said they had access to the Interent. The biggest difference is still between the oldest Americans and everyone else. The percentage of adults aged 65 and older who said they have gone online rose to only 15 per cent from 12 per cent, compared with a jump to75 per cent from 61 per cent for adults 18 to 29, an increase to 65 per cent from 57 per cent for 30- to 49-year-olds and a rise to 51 per cent from 41 per cent for adults 50 to 64. The November-December survey was the first in which the Pew project has included questions about children. Based on information from parents, Pew estimated that more than 30 million, or 45 per cent of people under age 18 have some type of Internet access. An estimated 73 per cent of older children, ages 12 to 17, have gone online, compared with 29 per cent for children younger than 12. E-mail is still the most popular online activity for adults. In the November-December survey, 93 per cent said they have checked their digital mailbox at one time or another, 79 per cent have looked for hobby information, 68 per cent browsed for fun, 63 per cent got news, 57 per cent got medical information and 52 per cent have done job-related research. Slightly more than half, 52 per cent, said they have purchased a product over the Internet; 45 per cent said they have gotten financial information such as stock prices online, but only 14 per cent said they have bought or sold stocks. (The surveys didn't ask respondents toidentify whether they go online at home, work, school or a library; and also didn't ask what type of device respondents used to access the Internet.) The Pew report is based on two telephone surveys last year with a total of 8,099 adults 18 years and older. The first was taken between May 2 and June 30 and the second between November 22 and December 21. The surveys have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The Wall Street Journal Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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