National trends, local insights

The internet’s impact on parents, students, K-12 education,

and local government

Susannah Fox

4.28.05

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Perc

enta

ge o

f Am

er. a

dults

Being online is the norm – but it is not universal

67%

Regional webmaster survey results

District residents' internet access

19%

19%

31%

31%

Less than 50% haveaccess

51-75% have access

75-100% have access

Don't know

Broadband adoption

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Jun-

00

Oct-

00

Feb-0

1

Jun-

01

Oct-

01

Feb-0

2

Jun-

02

Oct-

02

Feb-0

3

Jun-

03

Oct-

03

Feb-0

4

Jun-

04

Oct-

04

Mill

ion

s o

f A

mer

ican

s

58 million

New Reality 1: Families are wired

81% of parents and 79% of teens agree that kids are not as careful as they should be about the information they give out online

62% of parents and 62% of teens agree that kids do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about

Overall, most parents believe that the internet is a good thing for their children

Regional webmaster survey results

Audience: Hope vs. Reality

0

6

38

31

0

25

38

0

13

25

0

19

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Staff Students Parents Community Media Other

Hope

Reality

New Reality 2: Interactivity matters profoundly

You are in constant “conversation” with your constituents

People like to create content and they expect to be able to interact online• 44% of internet users have created

content and posted it online

• 57% of broadband users have done so

Regional webmaster survey results

Online discussions

Live chat

Bulletin boards

Blogs

Interactive listserves

Non-interactive lists

Other

None of the above

Regional webmaster survey results

Using your site to communicate or seek input

69

44 4450

25

01020304050607080

Solicitcommunity inputon specific issue

Rally support forinitiative

Expand positionon issue

Float new ideato citizens

None of theabove

Comparison: Local government officials survey

In 2002, 88% of National League of Cities members used email

73% said email helps them better understand public opinion

56% said it has improved relations with community

32% said email influenced policy decisions (phone was still king in 2002)

New Reality 3: People rely on the web to get government info

66% of internet users have gone to a government Web site

Most find what they are looking for and were satisfied (esp. federal site visitors)

65% of internet users expect gov’t info to be on the Web

39% of all Americans (including 10% of non-internet users!) will turn to the Net first for next gov’t contact

Regional webmaster survey results

Content updates: Impressive!

56%25%

19%

0%

0%

More than once a day

Every day

A few times each week

Once a week

Less than once a week

New Reality 4: People use online info to make decisions

When faced with a major life moment, many internet users turn to the Web

Greatest impact: choosing a school; starting a hobby; getting additional training for work; buying a car; helping someone deal with a major illness

45% of internet users said the Net played a crucial role in at least one of the 15 “moments” we asked about in 2002

Conclusions

Study your audience, including the technology leaders in your midst – current students

Optimize your search engine – Google has spoiled us all

Open up to interactivity – but be ready for enthusiastic hordes if you live in a broadband-rich community

Contact information

Susannah Fox, Pew Internet & American Life Project

Sfox(at)pewinternet.org 202 419 4500