Amount Of Internet Use Research Articles

SOCIAL ATTITUDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INTERNET USERS AND NON-USERS

As more survey and opinion polling agencies collect their data using the Internet, questions arise about how representative Internet users are of the American population as a whole. We use a targeted module of IT-relevant questions added to the 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 samples in the General Social Survey (GSS) to analyze differences between Internet users and non-users. We devote particular attention to the issue of whether Internet use is associated with more or less diverse or ‘liberal’ political opinions and to how these associations have changed since 2000. In general, we found that where differences existed, they were in the direction of Internet users being more supportive of diverse and tolerant points of view than were non-users, consistent with the premise that going online is a way of expressing openness to opposing points of view and new experiences. However, the differences were often non-monotonic – that is, openness did not always increase progressively with the amount of Internet use. Moreover, there were differences for some racial/family/sexual/political attitudes but not others, in patterns that do not fit easily under standard labels such as liberal, conservative or even libertarian. Internet users also expressed slightly more optimistic and sociable attitudes on certain other GSS questions. On most GSS items, however, either there were no differences between Internet users and non-users, or the differences could be explained by age, education, race, gender or income factors. Thus, respondents in Internet surveys can be expected to differ from non-Internet respondents in being selectively more tolerant on certain political issues, but not on most other political issues. The results held about as strongly in 2006 as in 2000. †Revision of paper presented at the August 2008 meetings of the American Sociological Association, Boston.

Factors affecting consumer use of the Internet for information search

The Internet opens new opportunities for conducting pre-purchase information search. Lower search costs have been found to affect use of the Internet for this purpose. Benefits in terms of the large amounts of information available and freedom from physical contact with sales staff have also been found to affect the use of the Internet for information search positively. In this paper, low costs and benefits are put together in a model. The model was tested by means of structural equation modeling on a sample of Danish Internet users ( n = 233). The main result is that the amount of Internet use affects use of the Internet for pre-purchase information search more than perceived low search costs and perceived availability of information. Further, the test of the model did not support that pleasure in shopping and a preference for personal contact to sales staff affect the use of the Internet for information search.

Trends in Youth Reports of Sexual Solicitations, Harassment and Unwanted Exposure to Pornography on the Internet

Purpose This study was designed to track trends in reports of unwanted sexual solicitations, harassment, and unwanted exposure to pornography via the Internet between 2000 and 2005 across various demographic sub-groups of youth. Methods Cross-sectional data was collected in two equivalent national telephone surveys of 1500 Internet users, ages 10 through 17 years. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine whether the percentage of youth reporting specific unwanted Internet experiences had changed in 2005, as compared with 2000. Results The overall incidence and 5-year trends of reporting unwanted sexual solicitations, harassment, and unwanted exposure to pornography varied by age, gender, race, and household income. In particular, the decline in the percentage of youth reporting sexual solicitations was apparent for both boys and girls, all age groups, but not among minority youth and those living in less affluent households. The increase in harassment among particular sub-groups of youth was largely explained by increases in amount of Internet use over the past five years. The increase in unwanted exposure to pornography was particularly apparent among 10- to 12-year-olds, 16- to 17-year-olds, boys, and White, non-Hispanic youth. Conclusions The decline in the percentage of youth reporting sexual solicitations may be the effect of education and law enforcement activity on this issue in the intervening years. Targeted prevention efforts for minority youth and those living in less affluent households need to be developed. The rise in unwanted pornography exposure may reflect technological changes such as digital photography, faster Internet connections and computer storage capacities, as well as the more aggressive marketing strategies of pornography merchants.

Relationships among Internet Attitudes, Internet Use, Romantic Beliefs, and Perceptions of Online Romantic Relationships

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors relating to perceptions of online romantic relationships. One hundred seventy-seven people who had never been involved in an online romantic relationship completed a survey to assess relationships among perceptions of online romantic relationships and (a) amount of Internet use, (b) Internet affinity, (c) perceived realism of the Internet, and (d) romantic beliefs. Results reveal that amount of time spent online and affinity for the Internet are positively related to more favorable perceptions of online romantic relationships, whereas perceived realism and romantic beliefs were not related to perceptions of online romantic relationships. Romantic beliefs, therefore, may lend themselves to more conventional notions of relationships. Implications for and development and maintenance of online relationships, as impacted by social support networks, are discussed.

Internet use by patients with prostate cancer undergoing radiotherapy

Objectives To analyze the amount of Internet use, type of Internet use, and factors that predict Internet use by patients with prostate cancer. Methods A questionnaire evaluating the use of the Internet was given to 295 patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer in three different settings: an academic center (AC), a Veterans Affairs center (VA), and a community hospital. The study included 171 AC patients (58%), 104 VA patients (35%), and 20 community hospital patients (7%). Results The response rate to the questionnaire was greater than 99%. Overall, 128 (43%) of 295 patients had a home computer. This differed among the institutions, with 64% of AC patients and only 5% of VA patients having a home computer ( P <0.0001). Overall, 94 (32%) of 295 patients used the Internet to access cancer information, with 48% of AC patients and 8% of VA patients using the Internet ( P <0.0001). Seventeen percent of black patients (n = 113) had a home computer compared with 62% of white patients (n = 175; P <0.0001). Equal access to computers did not influence Internet use because, among those patients who had access to computers, black patients used the Internet less than did white patients (32% versus 61%, P <0.0001). Men 65 years of age or younger were more likely to use the Internet (45%) than those older than 65 years (28%; P = 0.004). Patients used many sites to access different types of information. Conclusions A significant number of patients with prostate cancer access the Internet to obtain cancer information. Urologists and radiation oncologists should be familiar with this important resource to help patients access appropriate material.