63 percent of US Adults Now Online

– Online activity has consistently grown over the course of our research.
Internet users discover more things to do online as they gain experience and
as new applications become available. This momentum often fuels increasing
reliance on the Internet in everyday life and higher expectations about the
things people can do online.

– Despite this growth in activity, the growth of the online population
itself has slowed. There was almost no growth over the course of 2002 and
there has been only a small uptick in recent months to leave the size of the
online U.S. adult population at 63 percent of all those 18 and over.

– Different people use the Internet in different ways. The report is full of
examples of how people in different demographic groups use the Internet for
different purposes.

– Experience and the quality of online connections matter. Those with more
experience online and those who have high-speed connections at home
generally do more online more often than those with lower levels of
experience and those with dial-up connections. The growth of the cohort of
veteran users, those with at least three years of online experience, has
been striking. Nearly three-quarters of Internet users have at least three
years of experience.

– Online Americans’ experience with the commercial side of the Internet has
expanded dramatically in spite of the economic slump. Financial and
transaction activities such as online banking and online auctions have grown
more than any other genre of activity.

– Email continues to be the “killer app” of the Internet. More people use
email than do any other activity online. Many report their email use
increases their communication with key family and friends and enhances their
connection to them.

– Big news stories drive lasting changes in the news-seeking audience
online.

Other findings in the report:

– The size of the online population on a typical day grew from 52 million
Americans in March 2000 to 66 million in August 2003 – an increase of 27
percent.

– 87 percent of U.S. Internet users said they have access at home and 48
percent said they have access at work in our August 2003 survey. 31 percent
of Internet users who go online from home have broadband as of August 2003.

– 31 percent of those who use the Internet at home have broadband
connections.