18 October 1999
Text: Surfing the Internet in the United States
(U.S. Census Bureau issues report on computer use, web surfing) (1030) About one-fifth of the U.S. population searches the Internet, and half of employed adults use a computer on the job, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which released a report outlining computer use and Internet access. The report, citing data for 1997, notes that the percentage of adults who use computers jumped to 50 percent in 1997 compared with 36 percent in 1993. "Access to the Internet is one reason for the big increase in computer use in the last decade," the report said. "About 8 in 10 adults who used the Internet at home used it for e-mail or for finding government, business, health or education information," the Census Bureau said. The next most common uses were searches for news, weather and sports, followed by travel-related searches: checking schedules, buying tickets, or making reservations. Access to computers was strongly influenced by family income, the report found: "Only 20 percent of children with family incomes under $25,000 lived in a household with a computer, while 88 percent of those with family incomes above $75,000 had a computer at home." However, more children had access to computers through their schools: 71 percent. Following is the text of the press release: (begin text) U.S. Census Bureau October 14, 1999 COMPUTER USE UP SHARPLY; ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS USES INTERNET, CENSUS BUREAU SAYS About one-half of the nation's population age 18 and over used computers in 1997, up significantly from 36 percent in 1993 and 18 percent in 1984, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. Access to the Internet is one reason for the big increase in computer use in the last decade as 1 in 5, or 57 million people, 3-years old and older surfed the 'Net in 1997. "The Internet will play a major role in disseminating social, economic and housing information collected in Census 2000," said Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt. "Modern technology will make it possible to get Census 2000 statistics in the hands of data users faster and more efficiently than ever before." About 92 million adults (47 percent) used a computer in one or more places: 64 million at work, 56 million at home and 11 million at school. Of the adults who used computers at home, 71 percent did so for word processing. Other common uses included games (54 percent), and e-mail and communication (45 percent). About 8 in 10 adults who used the Internet at home used it for e-mail or for finding government, business, health or education information. The next most common uses were looking for news, weather and sports (50 percent); followed by checking schedules, buying tickets or making reservations (25 percent). Children who used the Internet at home used it to find government, business, health or education information (76 percent); to send and receive e-mail (58 percent); to participate in chat rooms (32 percent); and to look for news, weather and sports (28 percent). Census Bureau analyst Eric Newburger said, "Public school students in grades K-12 maintained parity with private school students in computer use at school in 1997. In each case, about 75 percent of the students used computers. Yet, at home, public school children had much lower rates of computer use than private school children." The report, Computer Use in the United States: October 1997, includes detailed tables with characteristics of households, children and adults, by the presence of computers in the home, whether or not they use computers and their access to the Internet. Other findings from the report include: Adult Computer Use - Half of employed adults used a computer on the job. - Women used computers on the job more often than men, 57 percent versus 44 percent. - Men and women used computers at work for different tasks. For example, 60 percent of women who used computers at work used them for word processing, compared with 54 percent of men. But, a higher proportion of men used the computer for analysis (34 percent versus 20 percent of women) or programming (20 percent versus 11 percent). Adult Internet Use - Of the 43 million adults who used the Internet at home, school or work, 28 million did so from home, 21 million from work and 6 million from school. - More men than women used the Internet, 25 percent versus 20 percent. - Men using the Internet at home were more likely than women to look for news, weather, or sports (58 percent versus 41 percent). Men more often than women looked at news groups (21 percent and 13 percent) and men checked schedules, bought tickets or made reservations more frequently (27 percent and 23 percent). Children's Computer Use - In 1997, half of all children had a computer at home compared with 32 percent in 1993. - About 71 percent of children enrolled in school used a computer at school. - Only 20 percent of children with family incomes under $25,000 lived in a household with a computer, while 88 percent of those with family incomes above $75,000 had a computer at home. Children's Internet Use - Of the 14 million children using the Internet, 9 million did so at school and 7 million at home. While 2 million children used the Internet at both home and school, more than half (7 million) of all children accessing the Internet used it at school only. - Among all children, regardless of computer ownership, 27 percent of those in households with family incomes above $75,000 used the Internet from home, compared with 2 percent of children in households with family incomes below $25,000. But for children from the highest income households (above $75,000), 20 percent used the Internet from school, compared with 12 percent from the lowest income households (below $25,000). The data are from the 1997, 1993 and 1984 supplements to the Current Population Survey. Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State)
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