Serious Net Use Is on the Rise

WASHINGTON -- Americans are using the Internet at work and at home for more serious purposes, as complaints about unwanted e-mails--particularly pornographic messages--increase, a study of Internet users found.

The Internet is shifting from a “dazzling new thing” to a purposeful tool, a study of 1,501 Internet users in March 2001 found.

The findings for the Pew Internet & American Life Project were released Sunday on the Pew Research Center’s Web site.

The study found that the number of people who went online from work rose to about 55 million from 43 million in a March 2000 study. The Internet also allows more workers to telecommute, with 14% of the respondents saying the technology lets them do more job-related work from home.

Internet users also said they are e-mailing family members more, with 84% of respondents using the technology to keep in touch with relatives. Half of those surveyed send electronic mail to family and friends at least once a week, the study reported.

“The Internet has gone from novelty to utility for many Americans,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project. “They are beginning to take it for granted, but they can’t imagine life without it.”

The number of Internet users who made online purchases rose 45% to 58 million people in 2001, as travel-service sales increased 59% and online banking increased 79%.

The time spent online has meant less television, shopping and reading of newspapers, the study found.

As e-mail use increases, 44% of users said unwanted e-mail, or spam, is a problem. Most Internet users said they had received unwanted e-mail with adult content, the research found.

Users did moderate their time online somewhat in 2001, the study found. The average online session fell to 83 minutes from 90 minutes in 2000, as some find the Internet less appealing and others said they have less time to browse.

The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3percentage points, with larger margins for subgroups.