The research sponsored by AMD Corp. reports the following data:
- Income has been the most important factor determining Internet
access. For example, more than 60 percent of
Americans with a household income of $35,000 or higher were online in 2000, whereas
only 42 percent of those with a household income of less than $15,000 were online. In 2002, the share of American Internet users with a household income of less than
$30,000 (18%) continued to be lower than its share in the general American
population (28%). Moreover, those with a high school education or less made up
merely five percent of the American online population but one quarter of non-users.
- The gender divide has been decreasing in the U.S. While just 34% of
American women were using the Internet by the end of 1998, 44% of them had
become Internet users by August 2000. In 2002, 73% of American men
and 69% of American women were Internet users.
- Younger Americans have the highest level of Internet
access and use. More than 80% of Americans aged between 12 and 35 were using the
Internet. On the other hand, 34% of Americans over 65 were online in 2002.
- The racial/ethnic digital divide is pronounced in the U.S. While 63% of
Asian-Americans and 55% of white Americans were online in 2000, only 30%
of blacks and 28% of Hispanic-Americans were online. In 2003,
the percentages of African-American and Hispanic-American Internet users (8% and 9% respectively).