Americans spend more time online, have positive view of the Net

Computerworld - Americans are spending more time online than ever before and many view the Internet as a more important source of information than TV, radio and newspapers, according to a new survey released today.

Last year, Internet users in the U.S. spent an average of 15.3 hours per week online, up more than one hour per week since 2006, according to the survey (pdf format) by the University of Southern California's Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. That was the highest level in the survey's seven-year history. Each year, The Digital Future Project surveys more than 2,000 people in the same U.S. households to find out how online technology affects users and nonusers.

According to the survey, 80% of Internet users 17 and older said the Internet is a more important source of information than television (68%), radio (63%) or newspapers (63%), up from 66% in 2006.

The survey found that 96% of online users spent some time each week checking e-mail, while 71% surf the Web without a specific destination and 60% search for news. In addition, 43% said they look for information about various products, 38% bank online, 37% spend time using instant messaging, 35% play online games and 25% look for "humorous" content.

Dial-up connections to the Internet at home have declined for the seventh year, according to the survey. In 2007, more than 75% of users accessed the Internet at home via a broadband connection, up 25% from 2006. And 68% of broadband users kept their connections on most of the time when they're home. However, more than half of new users accessed the Internet via a telephone modem.

In addition, 46% of Internet users said they believe most of the information online is reliable, and 83% of users -- the same percentage as in 2006 -- said most of the information on the sites they frequently visit is reliable and accurate, according to the report.

But those numbers don't apply to information gathered from search engines. Only 51% of Internet users said the information served up by search engines is reliable and accurate, down from 62% in 2006, the survey said.

Americans who don't spend any time online said some of the disadvantages of not using the Internet included being at a disadvantage during job transitions, having difficulty obtaining information for their jobs or personal interests, and being excluded from communications.

Overall, Americans view the Internet as a friend rather than a foe, according to the survey.

"In general, opinions about the Internet remain overwhelmingly positive," said Jeffrey Cole, the center's director, in the statement.

Read more about networking and internet in Computerworld's Networking and Internet Knowledge Center.