Perspectives

The Changing Face of Online America

According to new census figures, the rural "digital divide" is closing.

And lately, the 'Net's looking a lot like America. The new legions of Web users have transformed the kinds of activities being performed online.

What does this mean for your business?

When the Internet first became popular, the Web demographic was primarily white, male, and well educated. At that time, the World Wide Web was text-driven; there weren't large graphic files to download, animated gifs, or fast-paced games.

Now, as many women use the Web as men, users reflect America's racial diversity as both Hispanics and African-Americans are coming online, and the average user has had some college courses. The Internet citizenry is starting to look a lot like America itself.

More general Internet access has consequences for regional economic development. Particularly, it can have an impact on the online portion of your business. Whether you're an ISP, have an e-store, or offer an online service to your customers, such as bill paying, your bottom line can be affected by the shifts in the online populace.

Knowing more about your potential users can help you make informed business decisions.

The Rural "Digital Divide" Closes

For years, studies like the Department of Commerce's Falling Through the Net have provided statistical evidence that American households in rural areas are less likely than their urban counterparts to have a computer and home Internet access.

Now, according to the recently released A Nation Online: How Americans are Expanding Their Use of the Internet that gap has closed:

Over the 1998 to 2001 period, growth in Internet use among people living in rural households has been particularly strong (24 percent at an average annual rate). Use of the Internet by people in rural households now approaches the national average.

The strong growth rate reflects a growing use of computers in libraries and schools for Internet access because according to recent research from The Pew Internet & American Life Project, 42 percent of rural residents do not use computers, compared to 31 percent of urban residents and 34 percent of suburban residents who don't use computers (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Percentage of American households that do not have a computer

Released in February 2002, A Nation Online presents the results of findings based on September 2001 U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey of more than 137,000 individuals across the United States. Comprising around 57,000 households, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of how—and where—Americans use the Internet.

Rural "Broadband Divide" Widens

According to A Nation Online, most of America dials in to the Internet—80 percent, in fact. But, more and more Americans are subscribing to high-speed Internet services. However, while residential use of high-speed, broadband service doubled nationwide—from 11 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2001—use in rural areas increased more slowly—from 7.3 percent in 2000 to 12.2 percent in 2001.

It seems that although the digital divide closed in rural America, a new divide has widened—the broadband divide.

It's not hard to understand why the broadband divide exists--the cost of infrastructure has resulted in slower deployment of high-speed Internet access. However, wireless high-speed services, such as those delivered via satellite and fixed wireless, offer a way to bring high-speed Internet access to areas where infrastructure build-out is prohibitively expensive.

What might a broadband divide mean for your Web presence?

Despite how "cool" some features might seem to the designers creating your Web page, make sure that it can load quickly on a computer with a 56K modem (or slower, if that's the average modem speed in your town). Internet users are an impatient lot. And before your neat Flash presentation can load, they'll be on their way to some other, faster-loading page.

Make sure your Web designers understand your demographic and that they design for the lowest common denominator. This is especially important if your Web site contains important information about your service.

Changes in Attitude, Changes in Activity

More important than who's online is what these new "netizens" do online.

The new wave of users comes to the Web for different activities than the first Internet users. Academics comprised many of the Internet's early adopters. Many of the first Web sites were text heavy and some, like Project Gutenberg, are repositories for e-books. The focus was on text and most computers were not able to handle graphic files of any size.

As modem speeds have increased—and with the increased availability of broadband—that's all changed. New users download files, play graphic-intensive games, stream music and video, and shop online. And, according to a recent New York Times exposé, the Web is now a mundane tool to be used quickly to find specific information rather than a frontier to be explored for hours on end.

Geography has little effect on the kind of activity performed online. Urban, rural, suburban—location has no place in online America. However, gender, race, age, and income all play a role in Internet users' online activities.

For instance, more men turn to the ‘Net for sports, news, and weather. In addition, A Nation Online finds that men are "slightly more likely to bank online than female users (19.3 percent versus 16.5 percent)."

E-mail is still the "killer app" with almost half of the country engaging in that activity. Young Americans are making instant messaging popular as well. Expect to see more devices that enable or include instant messaging features.

Shopping and searching for product and service-related information had steady growth. According to A Nation Online, "among Internet users, 39 percent of individuals are making online purchases and 35 percent of individuals are searching for health information." Users whose age rage from 25-44 are the most common shoppers.

Pew predicts slowing demand for access

The Pew Internet & American Life Project (Pew) polls the American public daily on its use of the Internet, asking not only what they typically do online but what they did "yesterday." The goal is to provide a long look at trends in Internet use. Their reports, issued regularly at their Web site www.pewinternet.org, provide snapshots of the American public's views on and uses of the Internet as well as changes in American culture as a result of Internet access.

According to a Pew study of adult Americans who do not have Internet access, "the booming growth of the American Internet population . . . will slow"; the study defines the bulk of those who are most resistant to the Internet as "gray gap": aging Baby Boomers and senior citizens.

These older Americans do not believe that the Web world will provide them any benefit—even though they believe it can be an important information tool. By and large, for older Americans, concerns over security and privacy outweigh whatever benefits the Internet may offer.

The study, however, names another group typically not online now that could affect future growth of the Internet: the under 30 crowd. Of this group, 47 percent believe that the Internet is too expensive but 45 percent believe they are missing out by not being online. It seems likely, then, that as soon as this group of Americans can afford Internet service, they will subscribe.

Knowing that the segment of the American public now online is your target market for any online endeavors. It might be unwise to create an online component for a business aimed at a group who is part of the "unconnected" half of America.

Strategic planning now for future growth

The statistics referenced here reflect the changes in Internet access and use across the country. The demographic of online America may be different in your area.

To craft innovative solutions in your area, you may want to compare national trends with those of your area.

And, as always, look to the future. U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans, in an introduction to A Nation Online, put it well:

Our young people are real leaders in the use of new information technologies. The vast majority of our youth are now Internet users. This development holds special promise for our economic future . . .

Sources

Harmon, Amy. "Exploration of World Wide Web Tilts From Eclectic to Mundane." New York Times. August 26, 2001.

Lenhart, Amanda. "Who's not online: 57% of those without Internet access say they do not plan to log on." September 21, 2000. Pew Internet & American Life Project. www.pewinternet.org

National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Economics and Statistics Administration. A Nation Online: How Americans are Expanding their Use of the Internet. February 2002. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/index.html