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Online Hours Continue Growth, Even as
High-Bandwidth Hours Shrink – MetaFacts TUPdate #031022 |
| Dan Ness,
Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 22, 2003 |
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A growing number of Americans are spending more
time online, even while hours online have declined for high-bandwidth users.
2003 marked the first time in recent history that half of the home/family
Internet users actively connected 11 or more hours per week. The over-11 hours
percentage is up from 2002, when it was 49% and continuing the rise since 2001,
when it was 45.1%.
The more-active segment of home PC users that
spend 21 or more hours per week has also grown strongly to surpass one-fourth of
home PCs.
Not long ago, someone spending more than a few
hours each day on the Internet might be called an online addict, but that label
could be applied today to a growing number of Americans. Only two years ago,
just less than one-fifth (19.9%) of home PCs actively connected to the Internet
21 or more hours per week. In 2003, this percentage has passed the one-fourth
mark to reach 26.3%.
Other findings include that high-bandwidth
users that connect their home PCs through DSL and cable connections are
curtailing their use.
Forget that high-bandwidth is only about speed.
The users of these DSL and cable connections are actually spending more time
online than those that dial-up over phone lines. More than six in ten (63.1%) of
home PCs using high-bandwidth connections spend 11 or more hours online per week
and over one-third (34.8%) spend 21 or more hours per week. However, this is off
from last year, where more than one-third (36.0%) of these always-connected PCs
spent 21 or more hours online.
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2002 |
2003 |
year/year |
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% of Projected Installed
Home/Family PCs
actively online 11 or more hours per week |
48.9% |
52.1% |
6.5% |
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% of Projected Installed
Home/Family PCs
actively online 21 or more hours per week |
24.4% |
26.3% |
7.8% |
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% of Projected Installed
Home/Family PCs with broadband/Hi-Bandwidth connections and actively online 11
or more hours per week |
63.7% |
63.1% |
-0.9% |
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% of Projected Installed
Home/Family PCs with broadband/Hi-Bandwidth connections and actively online 21
or more hours per week |
36.0% |
34.8% |
-3.3% |
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Source: MetaFacts, Inc. – Technology User
Profile – 2003 and 2002 |
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What's ahead? |
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Much of the Internet activity has been recently
driven a range of activities which have softened. Purchasing products online has
tapered off, dropping from 22.8% of online PCs last year to 21.9% this year.
Also, playing interactive games online has weakened, dropping from 40.1% last
year to 36.4%. Further, online music usage has cooled, dropping from 29.7% to
24.2%.
Should companies focusing their marketing on
the Internet be concerned? As the nation continues to split into disparate
groups of heavy and light users, just as the digital divide has separated the
haves and have-nots, this means that marketers need to more deeply understand
the interests of each segment in order to reach them. Otherwise, they risk
focusing their resources on a market that isn't what they think it is. |
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For a PDF copy of
this TUPdate,
please follow
this link to the full document |
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Background & Methodology |
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Factual, decision-making information like this is
only found in one place, the Technology User Profile from MetaFacts. The
Technology User Profile market research information service is based on
extensive primary research selected and balanced to represent the American
population - including technology users and non-technology users. Drawn from
more than 10,000 surveys per year reporting on over 250 questions, it is the
most comprehensive total market technology study available. TUPdates are brief
summaries of information contained in the Technology User Profile. |
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