REPEAT/2001 UCLA Internet Report Finds Declines in E-Commerce, Major Concerns About Online Privacy; Television Is the Primary Victim of Online Use

Business Wire, Nov 29, 2001

Business Editors & Internet Writers

REPEATING...

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2001

UCLA's year-to-year report on the impact of the Internet released today leaves little doubt that going online is now a mainstream activity in American life that continues to spread among people across all age groups, education levels and incomes.

However, the study also found that enthusiasm for e-commerce is down, broad concerns remain about Internet privacy and security, and television is the primary victim of increasing Internet use.

"Despite the dot-com meltdown, we found that the Internet is more vigorous than ever," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the university's Center for Communication Policy, a research unit in The Anderson School at UCLA that is affiliated with the College of Letters and Science.

"A large majority of Americans go online, Internet use continues to increase and growing numbers of non-users expect to go online in the next year," Cole said. "Yet, many concerns about the Internet remain from 2000, and new concerns have emerged in 2001."

The UCLA study is based on a national sample of 2,006 Internet users and non-users.

Among the more than 100 major issues in the UCLA Internet Report are findings on privacy, online security, children and Internet use, online shopping, television and Internet use, and sexual content of online material.

-- The study found that 72.3 percent of Americans have Internet access, up from
66.9 percent in 2000. Users go online an average of 9.8 hours per week, an
increase from 9.4 hours in 2000.

-- Internet shopping -- Online purchasing in general continues to be strong;
48.9 percent of Internet users purchased online in 2001, but down slightly from
50.7 percent in 2000.

-- Television and Internet use -- By every measure reported in the UCLA
Internet Project, television is the primary victim of the growth of the
Internet.

"Without question, Internet users are `buying' some of their time to go online from the time they used to spend watching television," Cole said. "The only social activity in American households that suffers significantly as a result of Internet use is time spent watching television."

-- Privacy -- In both 2000 and 2001, the UCLA Internet Project

found deep concerns about privacy among new users and very

experienced users alike; prominent among the privacy issues

was concern about credit card security.

-- Children online -- 88.2 percent of adults say children spend

about the right amount of time or too little time online, down

slightly from 89.2 percent in 2000. Internet users and

non-users agree that children can gain access to "a lot of

inappropriate material" while online. Adults say the Internet

does not negatively affect children's grades or friendships.

Almost one-quarter of children now watch less TV than before

they used the Internet.

To download the UCLA Internet Report, visit www.ccp.ucla.edu.