USC Annenberg School for Communication – 2008 Digital Future Projecy – PART2

Communication Patterns

How Many Americans Are Using E-mail? — The already high level of e-mail use by Internet users grew even higher. In the current digital future project, 99 percent of Internet users said they use e-mail.

How Quickly Should Users Reply To E-mail? — Increasing numbers of e-mail users expect rapid response to e-mail. Thirty-one percent said that personal e-mail messages should be answered as soon as possible — up from 24 percent in 2006.

E-mail Communication With Teachers, Government Officials, And Health Care Professionals — Growing percentages of e-mail users reported that they use e-mail to contact a teacher or government official; more than half of e-mail users contacted either a teacher or government official.

Instant Messaging And Social Relationships — Even as use of instant messaging increases, less than one-quarter of Internet users overall said that instant messaging is important in maintaining social relationships.

The Internet And Social Relationships — In a new question for the Digital Future Project, users were asked about the importance of the Internet in helping to maintain social relationships. Overall, 45 percent of users said that the Internet was important or very important in helping them to maintain social relationships, while 30 percent of users said the Internet is not important in maintaining their social relationships.

The Internet And Online Friends — Internet users report growing numbers of online friends. Internet users said they have an average of 5.2 friends online whom they have never met in person, the highest number reported thus far in the Digital Future Project.

Total Time Spent Socializing With Friends And Family — Internet users report slightly more time per week than non-users socializing with friends in person. Users also report spending three more hours per week than non-users socializing face-to-face with family.

Children And Time Spent With Friends — Large percentages of adults (87 percent) said that the children in their household spend the same amount of time or more time with friends since using the Internet. However, the percentage of adults who said that their children spend less time with friends increased for the third year in a row, to the highest level in the seven years of the Digital Future Project.

Online Predators: Are They A Threat To Children? — A new question for the Digital Future Project found that a large majority of adults said that online predators are a threat to the children in their households. In households with children, 53 percent of adults agreed that online predators are a threat to their children.

Social Effects

Online Communities

For the Digital Future Project, an “online community” is defined as a group that shares thoughts or ideas, or works on common projects, through electronic communication only. These online communities represent broad interests — professional, social, spiritual, hobby, and political, among others.

Are You A Member Of An Online Community? — Fifteen percent of Internet users reported they are members of an online community — more than double the percentage since this question was first asked three years ago.

Types of Online Communities — Nearly half of online community members said their community is related to their hobbies. Large percentages of members report that their community involves their social lives or professional issues.

Participation In Online Communities: Does It Affect Involvement in Real-World Communities? — A large percentage of online community members said that their participation in those communities has no effect on their involvement in offline communities. However, 16 percent of online community members said that this involvement decreased their involvement in offline communities.

Online Community Members: Interaction — Seventy-one percent of online community members said they sometimes or always interact with other members of their community while logged in, up marginally from 70 percent in 2006.

Online Communities: Links To Offline Actions — A large increase in the percentage of online community members take actions offline at least once a year that are related to their online community, such as attending a meeting.

Online Community Members: Do They Meet Members Of Their Community In Person? — In addition to high levels of interaction with specific members of online communities, a growing majority of online community members meet their counterparts in person.

Web Sites For Video Sharing Or Social Networking: How Often Do You Visit? — While one-fourth of online community members never visit video sharing or social networking sites such as YouTube or Facebook, half of them visit once a week or more, and 22 percent visit at least once a day.

Why Do Users Visit Web Sites For Video Sharing And Social Networking? — Internet users reported a wide range of reasons for visiting video sharing services such as YouTube and social networking Web sites such as MySpace, with relaxing or filling time at the top of the list. Users also report several reasons involving personal values, such as gaining insight into themselves or other members, looking for a sense of belonging, or finding models of behavior.

Posting Content Online By Online Community Members — Among all online community Web site visitors, almost two-thirds (64 percent) said that they never create videos or other content to post on Web sites such as YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and Hi5.

Children Participating In Online Communities: The Adult View — Although participation in online communities Web sites for video posting and social networking is increasing, a large percentage of adults are uncomfortable with the children in their households participating in online communities. In a new question for the Digital Future Project, adults with children in their household were asked if they were comfortable with the children participating in online communities; 63 percent disagreed, while only 15 percent agreed.

Participation In Online Communities Related To Social Causes — Three-quarters of online community members in the current Digital Future Project said they use the Internet to participate in communities related to social causes — up 30 percent from 2006.

he Internet: An Aid For Users To Stay Informed About Social Causes? — Almost all members of online communities (94 percent) said the Internet helps them become more informed about social causes.

Are You Participating In New Social Causes Because Of Online Communities? — Large and growing percentages of online community members (87 percent) are participating in social causes that are new to them since their involvement in online communities began.

Social Activism And Participation In Online Communities — Although many online community members are actively involved in social causes, a lower percentage said that their activism has increased since
they began participating in online communities compared to 2006.

Has Offline Participation In Social Issues Changed Because Of Online Involvement? — Although large percentages of Internet users said they participate in online social causes, only 16 percent said that they are involved more often in offline social issues as a result of their online participation.

Online Communities: Participation In Non-Profit Organizations — A growing percentage of online community members report that their participation in non-profit organizations has stayed the same since they started using the Internet. Twenty-one percent of online community members said their involvement in non- profit organizations has increased — down from 30 percent in 2006.

Are Online Communities As Important As The Real World? — For the second year in a row, a large percentage of members of online communities feel as strongly about their online communities as they do about their real-world communities. Fifty-five percent of online community members said they feel as strongly about their online communities as they feel about their real-world communities — an increase from 43 percent in 2006.

Children And The Internet

Internet Use: The Right Amount Of Time For Children? — The small but growing percentage of adults who said that the children in their households spend too much time using the Internet reached 25 percent of respondents — the highest number in the seven years of the Digital Future Project.

Television Viewing: The Right Amount Of Time For Children? — In all seven studies in the Digital Future Project, more than 40 percent of adults said that the children in their households spend too much time watching television. That percentage has reached the highest level in the study (49 percent) for the second year in a row.

The Internet And Schoolwork: Children’s Views — Children and adults in the current Digital Future Project continue to express conflicting views about the importance of the Internet for schoolwork. Almost all Internet users age 18 and under said that going online plays a major role in their schoolwork, but the level of importance has declined slightly.

Internet Use And School Grades: The Adults’ View — As in the previous years of the Digital Future Project, adults take a different view than children of the Internet’s value for schoolwork. Most adults said that the Internet has no effect on school grades for the children in their household, and the adult view of the Internet as a negative influence on grades is growing.

Internet Use And Television Viewing: Use As Punishment Tools — Denying access to both the Internet and television as a punishment tool for children continued to increase, and reached their highest levels to date.

Political Power And Influence

Is The Internet Important In Political Campaigns? — Sixty-four percent of Internet users agreed that the Internet has become important for political campaigns — up from 59 percent of users in 2006.

Is the Internet A Tool For Political Influence? — Can the Internet encourage public officials to care more about what people think? Only a small percentage of respondents said yes, and the number is declining.

The Internet: Does It Help People Better Understand Politics? — In the current Digital Future Project, belief that the Internet can be a tool for learning about the political process continues to remain high, but has declined slightly for the second consecutive year.

Voting Online: A Split Decision — In a new question for the Digital Future Project, respondents were asked about their interest in voting online. Among respondents 16 and older, 41 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement, while 37 percent agreed or strongly agreed.

Trends And Issues — The Digital Future Project identified several major trends and issues about the maturing of the Internet, including: increasing negative views about the Internet, the views of non-users, changes in media use, online communities, and the impact of the Internet on the political process.