Demographics

There were 234,372,000 internet users in the US (representing 76.3% of the population) in December 2009, according to Internet World Stats. This was up by 145.8% compared to 2000. (Internet World Stats, April 2010)

Change is happening within the US internet population on many levels. The average age of internet users is rising in tandem with that of the general population, for example, and racial and ethnic characteristics are more closely mirroring those in the offline population.

221 million people (about 71% of the total population) in the US will be online in 2010, according to eMarketer. Their numbers will continue to grow, reaching 250 million in 2014, more than 77% of the population.

eMarketer believes that in five years, the results of some demographic shifts now taking place will become more evident. Internet users will be older, and many will have lower levels of education and annual income. They will also be more diverse racially and ethnically and expect marketing messages to appeal to them.

US internet users, 2008-2014:
- 2008: 203.2 million (66.8% of the population)
- 2009: 211.7 million (68.9%)
- 2010: 221.0 million (71.2%)
- 2011: 229.2 million (73.2%)
- 2012: 236.9 million (74.9%)
- 2013: 244.1 million (76.5%)
- 2014: 250.7 million (77.8%)

Growth is still occurring among all races and ethnicities of internet users. eMarketer estimates the internet population will increase 13.4% between 2010 and 2014, compared with 3.9% for the general population. Despite their already high internet use, non-Hispanic whites and Asians will see further penetration by 2014, to 81.2% and 81%, respectively. Blacks and Hispanics, while still underrepresented online, will see steady growth in penetration rates, to 72.3% of the black population and 70% of Hispanics. (eMarketer, April 2010)

Trust levels with Web security vary widely among users, with an average US index of 61.5 out of 100, according to the first "Internet Trust Index Report" from Internet infrastructure provider VeriSign.

Users who have been on the Web for longest are most comfortable. Respondents who had been online for at least five years felt more than twice the level of trust as those who had been connected for only six months or less.

US internet users' level of trust in the internet, by experience online, December 2009 (index based on a scale of 0-100 with 100 signifying absolute trust):
- <6 months: 33
- 6 months-1 year: 45
- 1-2 years: 52
- 3-4 years: 59
- 5-7 years: 71
- 8-10 years: 76
- 10+ years: 82

Frequency of usage also played a part in how safe users felt on the Web. Users who log on at least three times a week, who are on average 42 years old, scored a trust level of 80. Infrequent users, who surf less than once weekly and have an average age of 56, indexed at just 24.

Overall, consumers expressed the most concern about conducting financial transactions online, including banking and bill pay. E-mail was a greater concern than online shopping, perhaps because of the wealth of personal data contained in e-mail accounts. And 28% of adults reported being "extremely concerned" about conducting online shopping or selling.

A 2009 study on privacy from Nokia Siemens Networks found that Web users were most concerned about identity theft, with 24% considering that the worst misuse of their online information possible. The misuse of financial information, along with the security of credit card and social security numbers, Internet community passwords and credit history were also critical worries. (eMarketer, March 2010)

Only 42% of African American and Hispanic consumers use the internet at least regularly, according to an Internet Innovation Alliance study of African-American and Hispanic consumers. Another 30% were considered occasional users, while 16% did not use the internet at all. African-American respondents were nearly twice as likely as Hispanics to never go online.

eMarketer estimates that overall, 64.8% of people of any age use the internet at least once per month in the US. Of those respondents who do not have internet access, 43% cited either not knowing how to use the internet or not seeing the need for the internet as the reason why they are not online. But interestingly, 44% of these same respondents said they would be more likely to subscribe to internet services if they were provided with free lessons on how to use the technology and 30% would be more likely to adopt if they had more information about how they could benefit from going online. It's clear that digital literacy programs are a crucial part of the formula for closing the digital divide.

Users also expressed interest in faster, cheaper access.

Middle-class and affluent respondents, as well as those more highly educated, were most likely to be regular internet users. Less well-off and older consumers tended to be "outliers," who used the internet less or not at all.

The top internet activity considered important to respondents was keeping in touch with friends and family, followed closely by education-related activities. Several utilitarian benefits were cited as important, such as job search, online banking and checking the weather. Users were less interested in social networking and even e-commerce, however. (eMarketer, December 2009)

Internet usage will continue to rise in 2010 in the US, as consumers find more ways to access the internet. The continuing proliferation of laptops, smartphones and internet-enabled TVs, MP3 players and gaming consoles will be the main force behind this trend. Teens and young adults are already active internet users with many devices. The change will be seen among adults ages 55 and older, many of whom have always had an interest in consumer electronics and now are discovering social networks and other media.

However, the number of internet users will begin to stabilize, as penetration reaches 66% of the US population, or 205.3 million people. Year-over-year growth will slow from 3.3% in 2009 to 2.36% in 2013, reaching 70% penetration in four years. (eMarketer, December 2009)

There is no question that the internet is now a mainstream medium. eMarketer estimates the US Internet population will grow to nearly 200 million users in 2009. By 2013, some 221 million people will be online.

US Internet users and penetration, 2008-2013:
- 2008: 192.8 million (63.4% of population)
- 2009: 199.2 million (64.8%)
- 2010: 205.3 million (66.2%)
- 2011: 210.9 million (67.3%)
- 2012: 216.0 million (68.3%)
- 2013: 221.1 million (69.2%)

Nearly 65% of Americans use the Internet today, and by 2013 that figure will rise to nearly 70% of the population. (eMarketer, February 2009)

100% of US internet users surveyed in Q2 2009 went online to pass the time, according to Ruder Finn. Other popular reasons were education, connecting with others, researching and sharing.

Reasons why US internet users go online, Q2 2009 (% of respondents):
- Pass time: 100%
- Educate self: 96%
- Connect with others: 92%
- Research: 89%
- Share: 86%
- Be entertained: 82%
- Keep informed: 79%
- Discuss: 76%
- Be part of a community: 72%
- Work (business): 69%
- Escape: 66%
- Opine: 62%
- Influence others: 56%
- Activate support: 52%
- Entertain others: 48%
- Emote: 44%
- Be creative: 42%
- Make a purchase: 33%
- Manage finances: 30%
- Comparison shop: 28%
- Join a cause: 26%

The least common intentions when logging on were to make purchases, manage finances, comparison shop and join causes.

Intent is the new demographic, according to Ruder Finn co-CEO. Overall, Ruder Finn divided online activities into six categories, listed from most common to least:
1. Learn
2. Have fun
3. Socialize
4. Express oneself
5. Advocate
6. Do business
7. Shop

Men were more likely than women to go online for business, entertainment and to keep informed on news and current events.

Women, in turn, were more likely to use the internet to advocate for a cause or issue, express themselves and socialize.

More than two-thirds (69%) of young adults ages 18 to 29 posted comments on social networking sites, 55% played games and 50% went online "specifically to rage against a person or organization."

Seniors were nearly twice as likely as young people to manage their finances, and 65% of seniors went online to be part of a community. (eMarketer, July 2009)

Americans are spending more time online, on both a daily and weekly basis.  At-home access far outstripped at-work access time in 2008, according to Harris Interactive. Expect both trends to continue in 2009, as a hefty percentage of unemployed people use the internet to find jobs or additional training or education, and adults who are worried about the economic and international news check in more frequently.

However, US adults are not world leaders in spending leisure time online. That distinction goes to internet users in China, who spent 44% of their leisure time on the internet in 2008, according to TNS Global. The company found that Americans ranked fifth worldwide, at 30% of leisure time spent online-virtually tied with Italy (31%), Spain and Australia (29% each).

The US may move up in the rankings in coming years. Since 2001, the average amount of time US adults spent online per week doubled, from 7 hours to 14 hours. Harris Interactive's annual telephone poll revealed that average internet hours grew slowly between 2001 and 2006, but took off in 2007 and increased even more rapidly in 2008.

At-home usage saw a more dramatic surge during that time, according to the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. Their yearly survey found that US internet users spent an average of 15.3 hours per week online in 2007, compared with about 9 hours the year before. (eMarketer,  January 2009)

Nearly half of the African-American population (over 19 million people) uses the internet at least once a month, and in four years, 56% will be online, according to eMarketer. The African-American online population is growing, in more ways than one. The "digital divide," a phrase describing the gulf between Internet "haves" and "have nots," is still evident, but shrinking.

US internet users, by race/ethnicity, 2008 and 2013 (as a % of population of each group):
- Asian: 78.9% in 2013 up from 70.8% in 2008
- White: 70.1%, up from 66.0%
- Hispanic: 56.5%, up from 49.1%
- African-American: 56.4%, up from 46.4%
- Other: 54.0%, up from 49.1%

Trends in African-American internet usage generally mirror those of the US internet population as a whole. Younger black internet users are most comfortable with all forms of digital communication: visiting social networks, downloading and streaming music and videos, blogging and playing games, according to eMarketer. Black boomers are online in high numbers, but mostly for e-mail and news. Black seniors ages 61 and older are least likely to go online and are more likely to read magazines and newspapers, as well as watch news on television.

African-Americans' spending power is strong, estimated at $913 billion in 2008 by the Selig Center for Economic Growth. And with the recent election and inauguration of President Barack Obama, spirits are high in the black population. Yet, according to The Media Audit, African-Americans were the least likely Internet user racial or ethnic group to make a purchase online.

US online buyers, by race/ethnicity, 2007 (as a % of population in each group):
- Total: 55.8%
- Asian: 70.0%
- Other: 52.0%
- Hispanic: 41.8%
- African-American: 40.6%

The study also found that African-Americans made fewer online purchases than other minority groups. 20% had made five or more online purchases in 2007, and fewer than 11% bought 12 or more things online. (eMarketer, March 2009)

The percentage of African-Americans who use the internet increased to 64% as of December 2008, up from 56% in December 2007, according to the Pew internet & American Life Project. In comparison, internet users represented 74% of the total US population in December 2008, dipping slightly from 75% in December 2007.

The proportion of African-Americans who use the internet increased by 22 percentage points from December 2000 to December 2008, compared with 21 percentage points for the total US population.

African-Americans accounted for 11% of all US internet users as of November 2008, according to Harris Interactive. That compares with the 12% of US internet users who were Hispanic and 74% who were non-Hispanic whites.

The absolute numbers behind those percentages are set to change. The US Census Bureau projects that non-Hispanic whites will account for 46% of the population in 2050, while Hispanics will constitute 30% and African-Americans will make up 15%.

Based on these projections, and on the Census Bureau's estimate of 439 million total Americans in 2050, there will be 65.7 million African-Americans, 132.8 million Hispanics, 40.6 million Asian-Americans and 203.3 million non-Hispanic whites.

If the 2050 internet penetration rate is estimated at 75% (probably quite low), this means there will be more than 49 million African-Americans online that year, nearly double the estimated 26 million in 2008. (eMarketer, January 2009)

Over 50 million unique affluent US internet users (those with annual household incomes of at least $100,000) visited websites in March 2009, making up over a quarter of the entire internet population for the month, according to comScore.

There were slightly more wealthy men (53% of affluent web users) online than women (47%).  Most affluent internet users lived in the Pacific (West Coast), South Atlantic (the East Coast from Delaware to Florida), East North Central (the eastern Midwest) and mid-Atlantic (New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) regions.

Not surprisingly, 45-to-54-year-olds made up the largest group of affluent internet users, in terms of age, with 10.8 million. Next-highest in number were 35-to-44-year-olds, followed by teens and older users. (eMarketer, May 2009)