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"The Internet represents the most important technological development of our generation; its effects may surpass those of television and could someday rival those of the printing press."                                                             UCLA Internet Report

Curious About the State of the Web?

The UCLA Internet Project is a comprehensive, year-to-year examination of the impact of online technology in America. The following are some Highlights from the UCLA Internet Report 2003 - "Surveying the Digital Future, Year Three" which was released January 29, 2003. This most recent Full Report including graphs can be accessed through a .pdf file here. (Use your browser "BACK" button to return to our site)

HIGHLIGHTS:
UCLA INTERNET REPORT – YEAR THREE

• In 2000, the first report of the UCLA Internet Project created a baseline profile of behavior and attitudes about Internet use and non-use in five major subjects: who is online and who is not, media use and trust, consumer behavior, communication patterns, and social effects.
• In 2001 and 2002, the UCLA Internet Project continued its year-to-year appraisal of more than 100 major issues, focusing on Internet users vs. non-users, as well as new users (less than one year of experience) compared to very experienced users (six or more years of experience).

 

WHO IS ONLINE? WHO IS NOT? 
WHAT ARE USERS DOING ONLINE?

OVERALL INTERNET ACCESS, ONLINE HOURS, INTERNET USE AT HOME

n Year Three of the UCLA Internet Project found that Internet access remained generally stable from 2001 to 2002, while online hours continue to increase, as does use of the Internet at home.

THE TOP FIVE MOST POPULAR INTERNET ACTIVITIES (PERCENTAGE OF USERS)

n The top five online activities in 2002 were e-mail and instant messaging, Web surfing or browsing, reading news, shopping and buying online, and accessing entertainment information.

INTERNET USERS: ACROSS ALL AGE RANGES

n Each of the three studies by the UCLA Internet Project shows that Internet access spans every age range – and in some age ranges, access approaches 100 percent.

HOW LONG ARE YOU ONLINE EACH WEEK?

n The average number of hours online per week continued to grow in 2002. Users reported an average of 11.1 hours online per week, up from 9.8 in 2001 and 9.4 in 2000. 

n New Internet users in 2002 went online an average of 5.5 hours per week. 

USING THE INTERNET AT HOME

n Use of the Internet at home grew steadily in 2002, increasing to 59.3 percent of respondents – a steady increase across all three UCLA studies.

TECHNOPHOBIA

n Technophobia affects respondents at all levels of experience using the Internet; 30.3 percent of new users and 10.8 percent of very experienced users report some technophobia.

HOW DO YOU CONNECT TO THE INTERNET AT HOME?

n Most households with Internet access still connect to online service with a telephone modem; however, broadband access has increased, and modem access is declining.

BROADBAND VS. MODEM: HOW DO THEY AFFECT ONLINE USE?

n Broadband users spend more time online than modem users in the most popular Internet activities.

HOW MANY WORKING COMPUTERS AT HOME?

n Almost one-quarter of respondents (24.1 percent) have more than one working computer in their homes. Nearly 10 percent (9.5 percent) have three or more working computers.

ARE YOUR COMPUTERS AT HOME NETWORKED TO EACH OTHER?

n Home networking of computers is a growing trend; 32 percent of respondents with two or more computers at home have networked them.

NON-USERS: WHY NOT ONLINE?

n The 28.9 percent of Americans who did not use the Internet in 2002 expressed a range of reasons for not being online. The primary reason is lack of the technology; 31.9 percent of non-users say they either do not have a computer or their current computer is not adequate.

ELECTRONIC DROPOUTS: WHY?

n The primary reason given by "electronic dropouts" – Internet non-users who were once users – for not currently being online is "no computer available."

n Nearly half of electronic dropouts say they miss nothing without Internet access. 

NON-USERS: WILL YOU LOG ON SOON?

n The number of non-users who say they will go online within the next year has continued to grow in each successive year of the UCLA Internet Project. Of non-users in 2002, 47 percent said they are somewhat likely or very likely to go online in the next year.

MEDIA USE AND TRUST

TELEVISION: VIEWING CONTINUES TO DECLINE AMONG INTERNET USERS

n The trend across the three years of the UCLA Internet Project shows that Internet users may be "buying" their time to go online from hours previously spent watching television.

n Overall, Internet users watched less television in 2002 than in 2001; 11.2 hours per week in 2002, compared to 12.3 hours in 2001. In 2002, Internet users watched about 5.4 hours of television less per , week than non-users – this compared to 4.5 hours in 2001.

n Almost one-third of children now watch less television than before they started using the Internet at home – up from 23 percent in 2001.

n The decline in television viewing becomes even more pronounced as Internet experience increases; more than twice as many of the very experienced users than new users say that they spend less time watching television since using the Internet.

THE INTERNET: AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND ENTERTAINMENT?

n The Internet is viewed as an important source of information by the vast majority of people who go online; in 2002, 60.5 percent of all users considered the Internet to be a very important or extremely important source of information. 

THE INTERNET’S IMPORTANCE: BROADBAND VS. TELEPHONE MODEM USERS

n The Internet’s importance as a source of both information and entertainment is higher among those who access the Internet via broadband than those with telephone modems.

IS INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET RELIABLE AND ACCURATE?

n More than one-third of users (39.9 percent) in 2002 said that only about half of the information on the Internet is reliable and accurate.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

INTERNET PURCHASING: DO YOU BUY ONLINE? HOW MUCH? HOW OFTEN?

n Fewer adults bought online in 2002 than in 2001 or 2000.

n While the overall number of buyers in 2002 declined, their average number of purchases increased substantially over 2001.

n The average dollars spent by online buyers in 2002 also increased substantially over 2001, but was still lower than in 2000. 

INTERNET PURCHASING: DOES IT AFFECT BUYING IN RETAIL STORES?

n In 2002, online buying replaced some purchasing in retail stores for many Internet users, and at higher levels than in 2001.

ONLINE PURCHASING: WILL IT INCREASE?

n A growing number of Internet purchasers in 2002 reported that their online buying is likely to increase; 71.2 percent of 2002 respondents agreed that they will probably make more purchases online, compared to 66.1 percent in 2001 and 54.5 percent in 2000.

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY WHEN BUYING ONLINE?

CONCERNS ABOUT CREDIT CARD INFORMATION: A CONTINUING MAJOR PROBLEM

n Very experienced users described much lower – but still relatively high – levels of concern than did new users about credit card security on the Internet.

WHAT WOULD REDUCE YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT USING A CREDIT CARD ONLINE?

n For nearly one-quarter of the respondents (23.1 percent) who have concerns about using their credit cards online, nothing will reduce their concerns about using a credit card online.

COMMUNICATION PATTERNS

ARE INTERNET USERS COMMUNICATING MORE WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS?

n More than half of users in 2002 said that since starting to use the Internet, they increased the number of people with whom they stay in contact.

E-MAIL CONTACT, PERSONAL CONTACT

n E-mail users maintain weekly online contact with an average of 8.7 correspondents. Of those people, email users meet an average of 3.4 correspondents face-to-face.

MULTIPLE E-MAIL ADDRESSES

n While more than half of e-mail users (52.6 percent) say they only maintain one e-mail account, almost 20 percent (18.3 percent) say they maintain three or more accounts.

WHY MULTIPLE E-MAIL ADDRESSES?

n E-mail users report a variety of reasons for maintaining multiple e-mail addresses. The most often cited reason is separating work e-mail from personal e-mail.

OPINIONS ABOUT THE VALUE OF E-MAIL

n Large majorities of e-mail users say that online communication: does not require too much time; makes them more likely to keep in contact with other people with e-mail; and allows them to communicate with people they normally could not.

n Most e-mail users are not frustrated with those without e-mail.

SCREEN NAMES: HOW MANY DO YOU MAINTAIN?

n Many Internet users maintain more than one screen name that is used for e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, and other online communication. Internet users average 2.2 screen names.

DO YOU USE MULTIPLE SCREEN NAMES WITH DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES?

n A small number of users across all age ranges report that they have multiple screen names, each of which is associated with its own personality.

SOCIAL EFFECTS

TIME WITH FAMILY, TIME WITH FRIENDS

n Most Internet users in 2002 continued to believe that the time they spend online has no influence on the amount of time they spend with their family, or time spent with friends.

WHERE DO CHILDREN USE THE INTERNET?

n Most children who use the Internet go online at home. Well over 80 percent of children who used the Internet in 2002 went online at home – about the same as in 2001 but higher than 2000. 

n Nearly three-quarters of children who used the Internet in 2002 went online at school, up from 63.1 percent in 2000.

CHILDREN ONLINE AND WATCHING TELEVISION: THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME?

n 44.9 percent of adults say that the children in their households spend too much time watching television, while far fewer (18.3 percent) say children spend too much time online.

n A large but declining number of adults in 2002 – 81.7 percent – said the children in their household spend "about the right amount of time" or "too little time" online.

n The number of adults who say that children spend too much time online has drifted upward over the three years of the UCLA Internet Project.

CHILDREN, THE INTERNET, AND INTERACTION WITH FRIENDS

n Almost all adults say the Internet has no effect on children’s interaction with friends. 

THE INTERNET AT WORK: BUSINESS AND PERSONAL USE

n Internet users continue to report growing levels of online access at work for both personal and professional use. Of those who had Internet access at work in 2002, about 90 percent visit Web sites for business purposes; 60.5 percent visit Web sites for personal use while at work.

DO EMPLOYERS MONITOR E-MAIL AND INTERNET USE AT WORK?

n About 45 percent of respondents who used e-mail at work in 2002 said their e-mail is monitored by their employers – about the same as in 2001. An almost identical percentage of respondents said their employers monitor their use of the Web either somewhat or closely.

DOES THE INTERNET AFFECT PRODUCTIVITY?

n In 2002, nearly two-thirds of users (64.5 percent) said that access to the Internet at work makes them more productive – an increase over both 2001 and 2000.

ARE USERS SATISFIED OR DISSATISFIED WITH THE INTERNET?

n Overall, users of the Internet in 2002 were satisfied with online technology, rating satisfaction with the Internet at 4.0 on a scale of 1 (not satisfied) to 5 (completely satisfied). 

n Users are most satisfied with the ability to communicate with other people on the Internet. Users continue to be least satisfied with the speed of their connection to the Internet.