The US' Center for the Digital Future has released the annual study of the impact of the Internet on Americans. The study found that 49 percent of Internet users said they had used free micro-blogs such as Twitter. But when asked if they would be willing to pay for Twitter, zero percent said yes. The responses about Twitter are reinforced by other findings in the Digital Future Study that explore Internet users' opinions about online advertising. The current study found that half of Internet users never click on web advertising, and 70 percent find Internet advertising 'annoying'. Yet 55 percent of users said they would rather see web advertising than pay for content.
The responses about Twitter and web advertising are among the more than 180 issues explored in the 2010 Digital Future Project, which is marking its 10th year of exploring the digital realm. It is claimed to be the longest continuing study of its kind and the first to develop a longitudinal survey of the views and behaviour of Internet users and non-users.
The current study reveals a profile of American Internet users who go online more than ever, almost two-thirds who buy online, most households now using broadband, a majority of families that own two or more computers, and large percentages of users saying that the Internet is important in political campaigns. However, troubling issues emerge as well, with the study finding large percentages of users who express deep distrust in online information, surprising gaps in Internet use within some age groups, low percentages of users who said that the Internet gives them more political power, and continuing declines of users who say that online technology makes the world a better place.
The Center for the Digital Future at the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism created and organises the World Internet Project, which includes the Digital Future Project and similar studies in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.
The Digital Future Project seeks to provide a broad year-to-year exploration of the influence of the Internet and online technology on Americans. Since 2000, the project has examined the behavior and views of a national sample of Internet users and non-users, as well as comparisons between light users (five hours or less per week using the Internet) and heavy users (more than 24 hours per week on the Internet).
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