http://www.boston.com/dailynews/197/nation/Online_usage_still_strong_in_f:.shtml

Online usage still strong in face of dot-com collapse, survey says

By Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press, 7/16/2001 19:19

NEW YORK (AP) Despite the growing junk pile of failed dot-com companies, Internet usage has held steady, a survey found.

More than half of the Internet users surveyed said they were online the same amount of time as they were six months ago. Twenty-nine percent used the Internet more and 17 percent used it less, according to the survey released Monday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

And spending less time online did not necessarily mean users thought less of the Internet: Some users said they had become proficient or installed faster connections, and needed less time to get the information they wanted.

Of the users who reported spending more time online, most said they need it more for school or work; had found more things to do online; or have better access to the Net or a computer.

Those who were online less often said they are not as interested in the things they used to do or are facing a time crunch.

The survey also found that only 8 percent of the users have seen one of their favorite sites go out of business. Of that group, only one-fifth are spending less time online.

''They are able to find other things online to substitute for what they lost,'' said Lee Rainie, the project's director.

The study was based on a telephone survey between Feb. 1-March 1 of 2,096 adults, of whom 1,198 were Internet users. Of those who use the internet, 1,081 said they had for at least 6 months. The margin of sampling error for the Internet-only group was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In May, Telecommunications Reports International found a slight drop in home online subscribers for the first time since the research group began tallying subscriber levels 21 years ago.

And late last year, Nielsen/NetRatings found average surfing time dropping by 15 percent, from 17.5 hours in October to 14.9 in December.

But both of those findings appear to reflect temporary conditions.

The TRI study attributed the drop to the closing of several free Internet service providers. The decreases were almost made up by increases in cable modem subscribers and other users.

And Nielsen/NetRatings found Internet usage back up again, to about 16.5 hours in each of the past two months.

-- Anonymous, July 17, 2001