The media had a field day back in the dot-bomb era heralding the end of America's fascination with the Internet.

Well, fast forward two years and those pesky web surfers not only refused to believe the hype, but they're quickly making the Internet their primary source of information, news and entertainment.

In a survey of 2,000 U.S. households by the University of California at Los Angeles, 61% of respondents said they find the Net "very" or "extremely" important as an information source. That's roughly the same importance Net users place in books and newspapers. Just half of respondents found television important, followed by radio (40%) and magazines (29%).

Overall, Internet users are online an average of 11 hours per week, an increase of an hour compared to a year earlier.

While the Internet is a widely accepted source of information, users are still wary of the accuracy of that information. Only 53% of users believe most or all of what they read online, down from 58% last year. But perhaps users are a little more savvy, accounting for the decrease.

The increased skepticism suggests people are learning to filter and double check information presented on the Web, both at the corporate level and the news and personal level.

Among other findings:

• 73% of those online for more than 6 years - the most experienced users - found the Intenet important, compared to 67$ for books and 57% for newspapers. Those with less than a year of experience with the Net placed books, newspapers and television ahead of the Internet.

• While nearly 1/3 of all Americans do not use the Net – in part because they either don't have a computer or one good enough to surf – nearly half of those nonusers say they're likely to go online this year.

• Some bad news for television. Internet users averaged five hours less TV each week than nonusers.

• And parents are increasingly using the Internet as a punishment tool by denying access. 37% of all respondents said they have punished their kids by cutting them off the Web.


By Robb Zerr, EIEIO – Mister Know-it-All
CommuniCreations, Inc.

Robb Zerr is Mister Know-it-All at CommuniCreations, an award-winning creative agency providing clients worldwide with innovative and creative solutions in an increasingly templated world. CommuniCreations’ services include digital video development, graphic design, online marketing counsel, writing, web design and on-demand creativity consulting. The company is based in Port Orchard, Washington, a rear view mirror community looking back at Seattle across the Puget Sound.