While the number of Americans who use the Internet is growing each year, the level of trust we have in the information we find is decreasing.
Internet use among Americans hit an all-time high of 82 percent in 2010, according to the 2010 Digital Future Report, an annual report on American Internet, now in its ninth year, from the Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School.
And while Internet use is up, people say they have less trust in what they find. Sixty-one percent of users said that only half or less of online information is reliable.
It's common knowledge that older adults use the Internet a lot less than younger generations (100 percent among users age 24 or younger), but USC researchers were surprised to find a high number of people age 36-55 who don't use the Internet: 19 percent of people who are 46-55, and 15 percent of people age 36-45.
Other highlights of the 2010 Digital Future Report:
- 49 percent: People who report using a free micro-blog like Twitter.
- 0 percent: People who would be willing to pay to use Twitter.
- 19 hours: The average amount of time that Americans spend online each week.
- 56 percent, and dropping: The percentage of American Internet users age 16 and older who report that communication technology "makes the world a better place." This number is declining, from a high of 66 percent in 2002.
Want more information? You can purchase the 2010 Digital Future Report from the USC Annenberg School, or
read the highlights online for free.
Are you using the Internet more...or less lately? And how much do you trust what you read online? Share your thoughts about the Internet in Comments, below.
A person ought to be able to report foul language sent to
their E-mail address when they have nothing to do with the
person sending it. These kind of people are ruining the
Internet for decent people.