The U.S. Online Population

According to Internet World Stats, of the estimated 302 million Americans in 2007,
211 million of them (70 percent) are using the Internet. This represents 19 percent
of the estimated 1.11 billion Internet users worldwide. In contrast, Americans
make up only about 5 percent of the world’s total population.18 The Internet is
becoming an important part of the everyday lives of Americans. As of early 2007,
parents spent an average of 33 hours per month (about one hour per day) using the
Internet, and children between the ages of 8 and 14 spend over 19 hours per month
online.19
• According to a December 2006 Pew survey, 69 percent of U.S. women and 71
percent of U.S. men use the Internet. About 83 percent of Americans aged 18 to
29, 82 percent of Americans aged 30 to 49, 70 percent of Americans aged 50 to
64, and 33 percent of Americans aged 65 and above use the Internet. About 49
percent of Americans with a household income less than $30,000 a year, 75
percent of Americans with a household income between $30,000 and $49,999 a
year, 90 percent of Americans with a household income of between $50,000 and
$74,999, and 93 percent of Americans with a household income of $75,000 and
above use the Internet. About 36 percent of Americans with less than a high
school education, 59 percent of Americans with a high school education, 84
percent of Americans with some college education, and 91 percent of Americans
with a college education or more use the Internet.20
• According to a study from early 2007, about 31 million U.S. households (29
percent of the total number of U.S. households) did not have Internet access and
did not plan to obtain Internet access over the next year. A survey of these
households asked why they were not interested in getting Internet access and
found that 44 percent were not interested in anything on the Internet, 17 percent
were not sure how to use the Internet, 14 percent had Internet access at work, 14
percent could not afford a computer, 8 percent could not afford service, and 3
percent said Internet service was not available for their home.21
• According to eMarketer, 51.7 percent of U.S. Internet users in 2007 were
females.22 U.S. Census data from 2000 found that females made up 50.9 percent
of the U.S. population.23
• Although improvements in wireless and mobile technology have made Internet
access through hand held devices easier, Americans are not necessarily using them
very often. More than 60 percent of U.S. broadband users own a mobile device
capable of accessing the Internet, but only about 5 percent of them use the
mobile Internet.24
• The abundance of media has increased the prevalence of multitasking. Some 70
percent of U.S. adult Internet users watch TV while online, 61 percent listen to
the radio while online, 36 percent read magazines while online, and 33 percent
read the newspaper while online.25

Source: Digital Economy Fact Book 2007