UNFINISHED SYMPHONYWhat we don’t know about the future of the internet

Lee RainieDirector – Pew Internet ProjectIGF- US Washington, DC10.2.09

Pew Internet & American Life Project – September 2009 survey

Age

93%83%

77%

43%

79%69%

61%

29%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

18-29 30-49 50-64 65+

% o

f adu

lts

Internet users Broadband at home

Pew Internet & American Life Project – September 2009 survey

Race and ethnicity

80%72%

61%67%

51%43%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Whites Blacks Hispanics

% o

f a

du

lts

Internet users Broadband at home

Community type

77% 75%

65%63% 64%

42%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Suburban Urban Rural

% o

f ad

ult

s

Internet users Broadband at home

Pew Internet & American Life Project – April 2009 survey

Pew Internet & American Life Project – September 2009 survey

Household income

62%

84%93% 95%

41%

67%

83%88%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

<$30K $30-$50K $50K-$75K $75K+

% o

f a

du

lts

Internet users Broadband at home

Pew Internet & American Life Project – September 2009 survey

Educational attainment

37%

72%

87%94%

25%

54%

71%

84%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

<High school HS diploma Some college College degree +

% o

f ad

ult

s

Internet users Broadband at home

Pew Internet & American Life Project – December 2008 survey

Physical status

77%

53%59%

33%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Non-disabled Disabled

% o

f a

du

lts

Internet users Broadband at home

Pew Internet & American Life Project – December 2008 survey

Language proficiency

76%

56%

44%

26%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Internet users Broadband at home

% o

f ad

ult

s

English speaking Spanish speaking

September 9, 2009 9Trends in internet use

The mobile difference

September 9, 2009 10Trends in internet use

The mobile difference

September 9, 2009 11Trends in internet use

Broadband well-being benefits• 42% of Americans say they or someone they know has been helped by

health advice and information they have found online – compared with 3% who say they have been hurt by online medical information

• 68% of broadband users say broadband is important to them for finding out what is going on in their communities

• 62% say it is an important contributor to economic growth in their communities

• 58% say it is important to their ability to share their views with others• 57% say it is important to their ability to communicate with local officials• 25% of all Americans say the internet and cell phones have made their

current family life closer than the life they knew when they were young, compared with 11% who say technology has made their family not as close

September 9, 2009 12Trends in internet use

Un-quantified impacts

• The exact economic value that is added to a locale when you bring broadband to the community … or the benefits that accrue to individuals as productive workers and as smart consumers when they become internet users

• Any improvements that occur in learning, especially in formal educational outcomes, when internet use is encouraged in school-related work

• The impact on medical outcomes that occurs when people use the internet to gather health information and share their stories about their own experience of diseases and treatments

• The possibility that internet use produces new involvement with civic and political life by those who might otherwise be disengaged

September 9, 2009 13Trends in internet use

Thank you!

Lee Rainie

Director

Pew Internet & American Life Project

1615 L Street NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20036

Email: Lrainie@pewinternet.org

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lrainie

202-419-4500