The Web Habit: An Ethnographic Study Of Web Usage.
February 2, 2004
This paper presents findings from an ethnographic study of Web usage in the U.S. The study found that the Web has become a core part of everyday life for most users and that users have formed very specific habits around it, similar to the way people formed habits around earlier forms of mass media such as newspapers and television. Some of the elements forging the new Web experience include pervasive access in homes, offices and public locations; broadband service that is always on and quickly available; wireless networks that are bringing the Web into any room within a home; the social transformation of the Web from a remote work tool to a welcome member of the family, and the increasing amount of time people are spending online. Core Web usage spans information, communication, shopping and entertainment. Web users recognize and value quality content and have developed loyalties that carry across online and offline media brands. A large quantitative study that complemented the ethnographic research supported findings about habitual Web use and synergies across online and offline
content sites.
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of Web usage in the changing context of where people access the Web, how they access it (i.e., the increasing use of broadband), the growth of wireless networks and other factors that were either not present or quite different a few years ago. The study also examined some common assumptions about how people use the Web – for example, the belief by many in the media industry that the Web is used primarily as a tool to search for specific information or that email/communication is the only reason most people use the Web.
The study used an ethnographic methodology of in-depth interviews with Web users and observations of their behavior in the natural settings in which they go online.
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