Community redefined.
Posted by nathan on 22 Jan 2007 | Tagged as: Uncategorized, my life., thoughts on life.
So I am sitting here, reading a study by the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication’s Center for the Digital Future.
The study tracks trends in Internet, and this year notes significant shifts in social communication and personal connections on the Internet.
43% of Internet Users who are members of online communities reported they “feel as strongly” about their virtual communities as they do about real-world communities. “(An “online community” is defined as a group that shares thoughts or ideas, or works on common projects, through electronic communication only.)”
56.6% of members log in to their communities at least once daily.
70.4% of members say they sometimes or always interact with other members of their community while logge in.
The Internet user report having an average of 4.65 friends they have never met in person. they have, on average, 1.6 friends met in person who they originally met online.
Other findings:
- 77.6% of Americans age 12 and over go online.
- 68.1% of Americans use the Internet at home.
- spend avg. of 8.9 hours per week online.
- 50% of people use broadband modem. Telephone modem use is at 37%.
- 65.8% age 17 and older say the Internet is a very important or extremely important source of information for them. (up from 56.3% in 2005)
- 51.1% of users make purchases online
- 89.8% of Internet users use Email. (given that 77.6% of Americans go online, 69.7% of all Americans use Email)
7 Comments »
on 22 Jan 2007 at 10:12 am 1.University Update said …
Community redefined….
…
on 22 Jan 2007 at 10:58 am 2.
Todd said …
I know I would be lost without it. I spend an average of 30-40 hours per week online. Of course, most of my work involves the internet. But still.
on 22 Jan 2007 at 11:05 am 3.
joe said …
Here, here…I would be lost without the internet as well, being a web designer and all…
@nathan: I’ve done a lot of research into how the internet is changing the face of community and relationships, and it’s pretty amazing. I would be interested to know how old the oldest person they polled was. Because, from what I understand in other research, these numbers are really only accurate for those 35 and under. Of course, that age goes up every year…
on 22 Jan 2007 at 2:12 pm 4.
nathan said …
Jeremiah,
do you really think only 69% of those under 35 use Email?
You can find the study at the links i provided. it states: “The project surveys more than 2,000 individuals across the United States, each year contacting the same households to explore how online technology affects the lives of Internet users and non-users…’
You should read it if you have questions about it, imho.
on 22 Jan 2007 at 3:08 pm 5.
joe said …
@nathan: I will be reading the article, but I won’t have time to do it justice until tonight or tomorrow morning. I do know, and this is through having done a lot of technical support, that the majority of people upwards of about 45 will admit that they use email, but if we assume we know what that means we are probably grossly overestimating what they are actually doing! I’ve spent a lot of time showing people how to send an email, only to find out they are terrified that now they won’t be able to receive any…somehow they end up with the impression that it only goes one way. I’ve also spent numerous hours on the phone with people walking them through sending or receiving an email (for the fourth or fifth time), and they will readily admit to anyone who asks that they use email. Do they really? Or are they relying on someone else to use it for them?
I also know that numerous psychographic studies have been done that show people under 35 and over 35 respond to online communities in entirely different ways. Similar to your (that’s the editorial ‘your’) 80 year old grandmother refusing to get a cell phone. She just doesn’t understand why she needs one, or how it will benefit her. But I can’t imagine life without it. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t conduct business or communicate with almost anyone without it! Grandma and I see the world in two entirely different contexts. (I’ll dig up some of those studies and reference them later. I don’t have tons of time right now.)
on 26 Jan 2007 at 3:02 am 6.
Tara Lilly said …
I don’t know what to make of age when it comes to net/email usage….my 50 year old mom has no interest in using email, but my 87 year old grandma uses it regularly! We’ve taught my mom how to do it, she just doesn’t care, she would rather talk to people (she does have a cell phone FINALLY) and I have given up trying to convince her. There has to be some segments of our lives and culture that values more personal means of communication. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. If my friend is going through something hard in her life, I have the sensitivity to know that calling her or going to her house is going to mean more than an email. Will young people growing up in a tech culture understand this? What do you think? I have to say I’ve been keeping up with Joe more through his blog, but I still love to see him in person and talk to him at church, maybe see if he has a pink shirt on, LOL. Are we in any danger of losing that part of life?? I’ll admit I’m nervous about it, anybody else?
on 26 Jan 2007 at 3:21 am 7.
joe said …
Yeah, Tara, one of the biggest client groups of those online dating sites are people over 60. Go figure!
Technology definitely impacts everyone at every age in a unique way. It’s really hard to create good solid demographs and psychographs, but we can get a general picture with careful research.
Interestingly, I just had a conversation with a friend the other night about the balance between online relationships and face-to-face relationships. We came to the conclusion that online facets can add a new, and very powerful, dimension to an already existing face-to-face relationship. But, it can’t really be a substitute. I do have friends from all over the world that I have never met, and they are good strong friendships, but they will never be as strong or as powerful as the friendships I have with people I can actually touch (That reminds me, I gotta call you and your husband about dinner sometime). I don’t think we are in danger of losing it, but I do think we are learning how to cope with the availability of, and effectively use the immediacy of new personal communication channels.
Oh, and I’m not wearing a pink shirt, but I did put a pink spot or two in my new website layout…gotta have the pink!