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Internet Plays A Large Role For U.S. Citizens
Homework Help writes "The latest U.S. Census Bureau report suggests that the Internet has become an integral part of the American lifestyle and economy." From the article: "It shows 40 percent of U.S. adults used the Web to obtain news, weather or sports information, a dramatic increase from the 7 percent who surfed in 1997, when the bureau conducted a similar study. The report also found that nearly half of adults, 47 percent, used the Internet to find information on products or services. About one-third reported purchasing a product or service online, compared with only 2 percent who did so in 1997."
TV also popular.
Radio popular, but not as popular as it was in the 1930s.
NFL football quite popular as a spectator sport.
What the hell? The last time they conducted a simular study was 1997? 96-97 was when the Internet really started to take off. How can they expect to show any kind of useful information if they don't do a study like that every year or every other year. Its like saying that in 1905 only 7% of people used cars and now in 2005 99% of people use them, so cars play a big role in people's lives.
I thought our government was gathering more useful statistics, but I guess not.
And she totally disagrees. She's gonna go post about it on her livejournal, then I'll submit it to Slashdot.
I'd like to see how this compares with other developed countries, especially ones in which broadband penetration is much higher, like in South Korea, Japan, most of Scandinavia, and to a bit less extent, most of Western Europe. If the US has 40%, what nation probably has the highest percentage? Sweden?
Take off every sig. For great justice.
Can someone tell me where I can get a copy of this internet thing? I don't wanna be left out...
Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
t shows 40 percent of U.S. adults used the Web to obtain news, weather or sports information, a dramatic increase from the 7 percent who surfed in 1997, when the bureau conducted a similar study. The report also found that nearly half of adults, 47 percent, used the Internet to find information on products or services. About one-third reported purchasing a product or service online, compared with only 2 percent who did so in 1997
when it says a third reported purchasing products or services online compared to 2%, is that a third of internet users? or a third of people surveyed? 2% just happens to be almost a third of 7% i noticed.... probably irrelevant though...
I got the pages from the 1930 census - the first one my father was on - there is a category for whether they had a radio in the house or not. He didn't but the Camarco family next door did. Yes, I teased him about it.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
The actual report can be found here (PDF warning).
SIG: TAKE OFF EVERY 'CAPTAIN'!!
Could the same not be said about any emerging technology? I bet it took things like television, cars, and telephones a few years to gain traction in the American household, but thereafter became an integral part of our lifestyle. I don't see why anyone would think the Internet would be any different.
Socialism: A feeling of discontent and resentment caused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.
The internet plays a large role in every US citizen's life. Virtually every bank, insurance company, restaurant, factory, school or other organization relies on the the net in one form or another to function productively (or function at all in some cases). Just because not everyone making use of those pieces of our culture and economy directly use the web doesn't mean that they're un-impacted by the internet.
To the extent that we have all sorts of just-in-time deliveries to factories, package tracking, widely accessible databases, and all sorts of other efficiency-enabling goodies that rely on internetworking, the thrust of the summary sells it very short. Sure, web/e-mail/IM use by individuals is way, way up from 5 or 10 years ago - but the country's use of the internet, down at the economic and government plumbing level, affects everyone, and in ways that most people don't appreciate until it breaks.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
In 2004, 39.5 million U.S. households shopped online, Forrester said, 3.5 million more than in 2003. The company predicts broadband, laptop and home networking adoption will help drive online research and purchasing to more than 55 million households by 2010.
Well, it depends on how much the bandwidth charges cost. In their equation, bandwidth is the only thing that isn't going down in price. Home networking gear, laptops, mobile devices with wireless/GPRS, etc, are all falling rapidly. It's the network connection fees that are prohibitive.
They are claiming that a huge percentage of households will have broadband available to them by 2010 but how many will be able to afford it with restrictions such as required CATV, local phone service, etc? Yeah, the actual Internet connection seems inexpensive until you realize that you have to bundle it w/the other services to get a reasonable rate.
That's what needs to be ended before broadband adoption skyrockets.
The average person spends about nine hours a day using some type of media, which is arguably in excess of anything we would have envisioned 10 years ago. It includes television, books, magazines, cell phones, the Internet, instant messaging, e-mail and radio ... full report is here
The important thing is not to stop questioning --Albert Einstein.
That's very true about the internet not being limited to what we personally use in our homes, but I think an important thing to note here is that just-in-time is not unique to the internet. It's not even unique to long-distance communications. [rant] People have always wanted to minimize storage time. Then some people started focusing on it and it had a better return than improving in other areas. Then some genius decided that "hey, I've invented a new concept: just-in-time manufacturing and delivery!" But there's no real invention... it's just improving on existing methods. It's not like one day people realized that storage time imposes real costs. It's in no way a novel idea. It's like if I invented a new manufacturing paradigm called high-quality-manufacturing where I try to give customers the best product.[/rant]
Not that you carry any of these assumptions, it just needed to be said.
Rank my idea: http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/node/531
Does anybody make (or buy) maps of small towns anymore?
Yes, paper maps do exist for both large and small cities. In my area, these maps are mostly free because they are supported by advertising local businesses.
As nice as google maps or other software packages are, its a lot lighter to carry a real map than a laptop, or a lot less expensive than buying a portable GPS map unit.
WTF is the internet?
and what about the people who can't afford internet access? Should we just forget about them?
Go. To. The. Library.
Or, are you suggesting that poor families that live too far from a library instead be provided with dial-up ISP accounts, a telephone line if they don't have one, a computer they clearly don't know how to use, and ongoing tech support such as will clearly be needed when someone who has never used these things is suddenly depending on them to "get a good job."
Or... perhaps those parents should be encouraging their kids to pay attention in school? There are countless ways for schools to get hold of free computer hardware and net access, but most don't have the staff needed to supervise/train students in the continual use thereof. If you're posting this comment, right now, about how I should be listening to the "clarion call" that you're mentioning... first tell me how many schools you've visited with that rebuilt Ubunto P3-450 and a $9 donation to cover that month's dial-up access for the machine?
And... minorities? Do you really think that lack of experience online, and lack of personally owned net-connected workstations is limited somehow to people of one color or another? Are you that race-fixated? Ever driven through Appalachia? Wake up, man, and talk some less myopic, skin-color-driven smack so that you can be taken seriously. And explain what you've done before telling me what I should do.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
I love it when people toss about references with no understanding of their origin or meaning. When Marx initially wrote about religion being the opiate, he was actually paying it a (albeit backhanded) compliment, that awareness of a religious idea can steer people toward a more noble life. It makes the oppressed fell better about their condition.
Marx figured religion would become obsolete anyway after the Revolution[tm].
Now even if we take the fully negative context that has been imposed on the quote over the years, your previous statement does not add up:
Seriously, the Internet makes it almost too easy to access information. If I want pizza, I go online and order it. If I want a movie, I go online and order it. To submit homework, I go online to submit it. To get a job, I email applications and lookup company profiles on the internet.
And where's the downside you are seeing? The Marx quote is sometimes applied to television and other mediums that tend to make people passive and distracted. What you describe is a handy and practical tool, and somehow this offends you.
So what's really interesting here is that the Marx quote, in its original context, might actually apply to some extent to the Internet, but not for the reasons you think.
Not of small towns necessarily, but of regions and states, sure. I have been using a Garmin GPSMap 76 with thier Mapsource software and while it is good for trip planning and the occasional re-routing, it take fore thought to load the maps and really doens't give a good overview of where you are, where you are going, and where you will be.
Paper maps are exremely useful if your lost and trying to figure out how to get back to where you need to be. Now you can say with a GPS, you never get lost because you always know where you are (and let's just assume you don't loose signal), that is true. But to get back to where you want to go via roads, not as the crow flies typically means. Zoom out to see where you are and try to figure out where you need to be. Try to mouse over roads to get names (which by the way are often route numbers when locally they are named and vice versa and I have seen this on Mapsource, Streets adn Maps, google, and other mapping applications (is other mapping software better)), zoom in to get better pointer resolution, zoom to get context again, set way points, zoom in ... Well, you get the idea.
Granted the GPSMap 76 wasn't designed to be a guide by wire mapping product, but it does a nice job and has gotten me out of a few jams.
If someone told me I had to make a choice between paper maps and electronic ones for the rest of my life, today, I would go with paper. They are more reilaible on so many levels and useable. Besides, they are fun to toss out the window when you get more lost using them.
Possibly, but aren't you confusing 'most popular' with 'generating the most traffic'? I suspect there's plenty newsgroups that are just as popular (or more so), but simply lighter on the data pipes.
Same with other types of internet usage. Things like e-mail and IM can take a small share of all bandwidth, but still be among the most popular applications.Conservatives have cut library funding for decades
Except that most libraries are, and should be, extensions of the local educational framework. Those are administered, and typically funded by local taxes (usually property taxes) overseen by state legislatures and county councils. The most impoverished, under-educated, high-unemployment areas of the country aren't run by conservatives, they're run - at the city, county, and state levels - by liberals. You'd think that areas (take, say, New Orleans as an example) where Democratic politicians have had their way for decades at the city, county, and state levels, that their policies would surely have resulted in an education paradise by now... right? Or maybe throwing money at the situation doesn't actually make the difference, and it has more to do with a culture of accountability, personal integrity, and parents that actually give a damn about whether their kids are in school and getting their brains in order.
I live just outside of Wasington DC. That school system has one of the highest dropout rates in the country, despite having one of the highest per-capita expenditures per student (over $10,000 per student per year - which would educate three or more students, internet access and all, in most other jurisdictions). The city is full of internet-enabled libraries, churches, and other community centers. But it's also full of families (and more often, single teenage mothers) that don't bother to arrange for anything like a stable home before having kids. It's outrageous that those kids should have to pay the price for their parents not giving a damn, but only parents can keep their kids going to school and paying attention.
Plus, all of the libraries I know require you to show photo ID to get on, which a lot of people don't want to reveal because they may have a criminal record (though have served their time) or bad immigration status.
So, you're suggesting that it's lack of internet access that's keeping someone from getting a good job, but it's their criminal history that's keeping them from getting internet access? If their legal status is that shaky, just what sort of good job did you think that internet access was going to enable them to get? Having a felony on your record doesn't stop you from using public facilities such as libraries. Being a wanted felon does, but again, no legit job is forthcoming then either. And, bad immigration status? So, again, you're hoping that net access is going to get someone who is already breaking the law a good job? If you're in the country illegally, while other people who want to be legal are going to the trouble and time to do so, why should I care to in any way subsidize internet access for you? Willing law breakers are exhibiting a willingness to lie, to abuse the system, and to cheat other people out of a place that those other people are willing to wait for. And you think that internet access should be provided (with other people's money) so that person can look for a "good" job? How do you define "good?" Someone who's willing to hire criminals? At least think about what you're saying, here.
is a horribly slow way for them to access all the moder sites with all their bells and whistles.
And buses are horribly slow ways for people to access the roads, and they only go to certain places - not always the places with all the "bells and whistles." And people pay for bus use, too. Why is it OK to have to walk to a bus stop to use highly subsidized public transportation, but not OK for it to take several seconds longer while your job-search web site loads over dial-up?
Yeah, see, most people of color tend to prefer to spend that on, I don't know, diapers and baby formula.
Why are you so obsessed with thinking that there are no such things as white people that can't afford to blow $50 a month because they also need to buy diapers? It's called personal responsibility... as in, don't have babies if the cost of having
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
"It will be a great day when I can make a comment on slashdot without one person dissecting information in it."
It would also be quite an occasion to see someone admit they didn't think something through before posting.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.