Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Some 42% of online Americans use instant messaging, and 24% of instant messagers say they use IM more frequently than email.
American adult use of instant messaging continues to grow in intensity, particularly among younger users who appreciate and embrace the tools of expression embedded within IM programs.
Generation Y is the leading edge. February 2004 survey results indicate that 62% of Gen Y internet users have ever used IM. This figure is significantly higher than any proportion of internet users in other generations. By contrast, the next largest group of instant messengers fall within the Gen X category at 37%. However, older […]
21% of instant message users use IM at their job. In recent years, the use of IM programs has gained popularity in the workplace. Twenty-one percent of IM users, or approximately 11 million American adults, say they instant message at work. This is the first time Pew Internet has probed more deeply into people’s behavior […]
About the Pew Internet & American Life Project: The Pew Internet Project is a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank that explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source for timely information on the internet’s growth and societal […]
Americans incorporate IM into their repertoire of interpersonal communication. IM serves as an additional mode of communication for individuals in the same location. Nearly a quarter (24%) of IM users report that they have instant messaged someone in a physically close location, such as a home, office, or classroom. The silent aspect of using IM […]
The survey polled users’ participation in 18 everyday activities that belonged to four clearcut categories. To assemble a good list of activities, we followed insights gained from previous research and divided online activities into four categories: information seeking; communications; transactions; and entertainment. We chose several examples for each category. These examples are not meant to […]
Many of the comments about everyday Internet use were contributed in response to a query on our Web site, www.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/internet. Additional comments came from three Web sites, whose managers were generous to let us post queries on their message boards. We appreciate the help from Beliefnet.org, WAHM.com (Work at Home Moms) and from Fatherville.com. We […]