More Households on the Net

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The number of people online is both a sign of the potential magnitude of electronic commerce, and an indication of our progress toward ubiquitous access to a range of online services, from health care to financial services to online governmental services.

THE TREND: () In 1996, 13 percent of American households were online. By 1997, 18 percent were online. The figure is projected to rise to 38 percent by 2001. The percentage of adults online has been slightly greater than the percentage of households online because many adults have access through their universities or work. From 1995 to 1997, the number of adult Internet users grew from 14.3 million to 41.5 million-from 7.5 percent of the adult population to nearly 22 percent. By the end of 2000, 72 million American adults are expected to be online-more than 35 percent of the adult population.

The speed of adoption of the Internet has been unprecedented. It will have taken the Internet less than seven years to be adopted by 30 percent of Americans, compared to 13 years for PCs, 17 for televisions, and 38 for telephones. And just like other major technologies, wealthier and more-educated consumers are the early adopters. However, as the technology becomes cheaper, a broader range of Americans are getting online. The average income of Internet users is dropping, as is the average education level. Both trends suggest that the online population is beginning to look more like the American population in general.³⁷

THE DATA:

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Productivity Paradox | Knowledge Economy
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