December 2005 – Online News and User-Generated Content

This dataset was the basis for the March 2006 “Online News” report. Data from this survey is also featured in the “Home Broadband Adoption 2006” report, “Online Banking 2006,” and “Finding Answers Online in Sickness and in Health.”

Online banking is holding steady as a mainstream internet activity, growing along with internet use generally, though not accelerating as have some other forms of online activities.

Adoption of high-speed internet at home grew twice as fast in the year prior to March 2006 than in the same time frame from 2004 to 2005. Middle-income Americans accounted for much of the increase.

As more Americans come online, more rely on the internet for important health information. Fully 58% of those who found the internet to be crucial or important during a loved one’s recent health crisis say the single most important source of informat...

Internet penetration has now reached 73% for all American adults. Internet users note big improvements in their ability to shop and the way they pursue hobbies and personal interests online.

By the end of 2005, 50 million Americans got news online on a typical day, a sizable increase since 2002. Much of that growth has been fueled by the rise in home broadband connections over the last four years.

In December 2005 24% of adult rural Americans went online at home with high-speed internet connections compared with 39% of adults in urban and suburban areas.

About 40 million Americans were browsing the web just for fun or to pass the time on a typical day in December 2005.