American Internet User Survey Finds More Than 41.5 Million U.S. Adults Are Actively Using the Internet

NEW YORK, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ — 21% of U.S. adults are now using the
Internet, an increase of one-third from the 2nd quarter of 1997.   85% of
adults online use the Web and 75% use e-mail according to the American
Internet User Survey, from cyberdialogue/findsvp.
“The number of adults online continued to grow dramatically in the second
half of the year, confirming a growing dependency on the Internet,”  according
to Thomas E. Miller, vice president of Cyber Dialogue and developer of the
American Internet User Survey.  “However, the prospects for future growth
become more complicated when you consider non-user interest in using the
Internet and user churn,” Miller stated.
The survey found that 15.9 million U.S. adults tried the Internet in the
past 12 months and for whatever reason are no longer users.  “We first noticed
this trend in the 2nd Quarter of 1997 and realized that by not taking into
account user attrition, some surveys were providing inflated Internet user
numbers,”  Miller said.
The survey also found that 23.8 million adults expressed interest in
signing up for Internet access within the next 12 months, an increase of more
than 2 million users who expressed the same interest in the 2nd quarter of
1997.
“Internet usage will continue to grow for the next five years, but the
market will become much more segmented as the medium becomes more mainstream
and user preferences become more divergent,” Miller stated.

Additional data points of interest include:

58% of current adult Internet users are male; 42% are female

51% of Web users use the Web on a daily basis

87% of Internet users agree with the statement:  “The Internet provides
more efficient access to info I need every day.”

77% of adults who use the Internet predominately for work agree that:
“Online services have made me more productive at my job.”

The American Internet User Survey user survey is a comprehensive overview
of Internet users and potential users.

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