Falling Through the Net
Guide Extra: 07/10/99
According to the Commerce Department's report, "Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide," while more Americans than ever have access to online tools like the Internet, the division between digital "haves" and "have nots" is getting wider.
The new report prepared jointly by the Commerce Department and National Technical Information Agency (NTIA) contains extensive, though-provoking data and graphs showing detailed breakdowns of Internet use according to age, income, geographic location, race, education, reason for use, and many more demographic factors.
Here are just a few statistics pulled from the full report.
From where do Americans access the Internet?
From the home - 22.2%
Outside the home - 17%
From any location - 32.7%
Don't access the Internet at all - 67.3%
Main reasons homes do not have Internet access:
Just don't want it - 25.7%
Costs too much - 16.8%
Have it somewhere else - 9.6%
Don't have time for it - 8.7%
PC is not adequate - 8.3%
"Planning" to get it - 7.5%
Concern for children - 6.0%
Not useful - 5.6%
Not "user friendly" - 2.7%
ISP problems - 1.3%
Reasons for using the Internet - At home:
Email - 79.9%
Search for information - 59.8%
Check the news - 45.9%
Take courses - 36.1%
Do job-related tasks - 29.1%
Shop / pay bills - 24.5%
Look for a job - 14.5%
Play games - 5.8%
Reasons for using the Internet - Outside the home (including at work):
Email - 53.6%
Search for information - 50.2%
Do job-related tasks - 44.6%
Take courses - 38.8%
Look for a job - 8.5%
Reasons for using Email:
Communicate with friends & family - 93.6%
Job-related - 32.8%
Hobbies & special interests - 31.6%
Educational purposes - 28.6%
Commercial uses - 11.9%
Links to the Full Report
Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide
Press Release (July 8, 1999)
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Index of Charts and Graphs
