Theos-Talk Archives (December 1998 Message tl00084)

Here is a survey on internet access. Nobody except some "pseudo-occultists"
who love pen and paper seems to find internet almost indispensible.

mkr
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by Mary Lisbeth D'Amico -IDG

If you were stranded on a desert island and could have access to
the Internet, a telephone, or a television, which would you choose?
If you said TV or phone, you are in the minority among U.S. online users --
at least, according to America Online (AOL). In a poll released Thursday of
1,001 U.S. online users with Internet access from their home, 67 percent
said they would choose a computer with Internet access if they were
marooned on a desert island for an extended period of time. Another 23
percent chose a phone, while only 9 percent opted for television.

About 87 percent of those polled said they
                  would miss online access if it were no
                  longer available to them, and 64 percent
                  who have been going online from home for
                  three years or more say they would miss
                  online access "a lot," and that "using an
                  online or Internet service is just about a
                  necessity to me," the study said.

                  Roughly three quarters of those polled said
                  that being online has made their lives better,
                  according to the study. Eight in 10 people
                  said the Internet makes many activities
                  easier and more convenient, and among
                  those with children, half said that being
                  online has a more positive influence on their
                  kids than watching television.

 Many respondents were unwilling to quit going online while on vacation. Of
 those respondents that owned a laptop computer, 47 percent said they take
 it with them on vacation, and about 26 percent of all users said they check
 their e-mail on vacation.

 Some 94 percent of those polled said going online makes it easier to
 communication with family and friends, with 87 percent regularly doing so.
 However, differences in usage emerged according to age group. Online
 users over the age of 50 are more likely to use the Internet to manage and
 plan their finances, while those between the ages of 18 and 24 are more
 likely to use it to socialize, the study said.

 Getting a profile of the typical user, about 65 percent of the online
 population is over age 35. Users are more likely to have graduated from
 college, be married, have children under the age of 18, and to represent a
 higher median household income bracket than the American public at large,
 according to the study.

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