Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- Living online: the numbers
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- Figure 1: World internet penetration, by geographic region, 2011
- Time online increases, internet traffic explodes
- Living online drivers
- Equipment
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- Figure 2: Ownership of computers, smartphones, and tablets, April 2012
- Connection
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- Figure 3: Where online/internet service is accessed, October 2010-November and 2011 vs. 2005
- Speed
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- Figure 4: Method of accessing internet at home, 2005-11
- The consumer
- Mobile device owners most likely to go online as part of their daily routine
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- Figure 5: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
- News- and transaction-related websites are most popular
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- Figure 6: Types of websites visited in the past 30 days, April 2012
- Most go online to research unfamiliar venues/services
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- Figure 7: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, April 2012
- Millennial-aged internet users most likely to go online when bored
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- Figure 8: Online activities and resulting actions, by age, April 2012
- Smartphones more prevalent than feature phones, owners increasingly attached
- A majority say that they prefer in-person/live conversation over online communication
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- Figure 9: Preferred channel for different types of communication/activities, April 2012
- Wasting time is common, one in five still want to spend more time on the internet
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- Figure 10: Attitudes toward time spent online, by age, April 2012
- Compared with other race groups, Asians are most likely to be living online
- What we think
Issues with Living Online
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- Will we run out of online life support? Is there enough bandwidth for all?
- Will the pros of living online outweigh the cons? Or vice versa?
- Do we need a break from living online?
- Will privacy concerns drive some users to delete Facebook accounts?
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- Figure 11: Delete Facebook 2012
Insights and Opportunities
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- From e-commerce to F- to s- to m-, online shopping continues to evolve
- Avatars create a more personalized travel service in person and online
- OneTrueFan (BigDoor)—the Foursquare of websites
Inspire Insights
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- Inspire Trend: Life Hacking
- Inspire Trend: Why Buy
Indicators of Living Online
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- Key points
- Number of internet users worldwide quadrupled over the past 10 years
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- Figure 12: Global internet use with various technology introductions noted, December 1995-March 2012
- Nearly eight in 10 North Americans use the internet
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- Figure 13: World internet penetration, by geographic region, 2011
- Figure 14: Any online/internet computer services use in the U.S., 2005-11
- Americans of all ages are online
- More than half of older adults online, more than eight in 10 adults online daily
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- Figure 15: Internet use in the U.S., by age, April 2000-April 2012
- Average time online per week increases by nearly 2½ hours since 2005
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- Figure 16: Time spent on the internet in the last seven days, at home vs. at work, 2005-11
- Internet traffic explosion reflects increase in mobile, data-heavy uses
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- Figure 17: Global mobile traffic data, by region, 2011-16
- Consumers increasingly mobile, using multiple devices
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- Figure 18: Number of mobile devices owned by mobile users, 2011-16
Living Online Drivers
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- Key points
- Desktops connect nearly eight in 10, tablet adoption rate is unprecedented
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- Figure 19: Ownership of computers, smartphones, and tablets, April 2012
- Age and affluence drive mobile device ownership
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- Figure 20: Ownership of computers, smartphones, and tablets, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
- Accessing is growing across all points
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- Figure 21: Where online/internet service is accessed, 2005-11
- Broadband use at home doubled over last five years
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- Figure 22: Method of accessing internet at home, 2005-11
- Increasing mobile network connection speed drives greater data use
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- Figure 23: Projected average mobile Network connection speeds (in kbps), by region, 2010-16
Innovations and Innovators
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- Expanding infrastructure of charging stations caters to digital consumer
- Innovative hotspot deployment: vending and sharing
- Inventive vending—would you like WiFi with that?
- Hey, buddy, could you spare some megabytes?
- Companies produce original content, high-quality video for the internet
- Facebook is the hub…spokes multiply in all directions
- Facebook’s timeline of your life
- Nike+ shows that online and offline can coexist
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- Figure 24: Nike+ GPS App, June 2012
- On heels of Nike+ popularity, Nike creates a new currency
- Advocates of time off(line) provide suggestions, mandates to cut the power
- TV advertising: “Unplug” as a marketing message
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- Figure 25: Ad Council/discovertheforest.org, “Unplug” TV ad, 2012
Time Spent Online Per Week
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- Key points
- Adults aged 18-24 spend more than 10 hours a week online
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- Figure 26: Time spent on the internet in the last seven days at home vs. at work, by gender and age, October 2010-November 2011
Typical Online Behavior During Weekdays
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- Key points
- Checking in with news and social connections is a daily routine for many
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- Figure 27: Typical online behavior during weekdays, April 2012
- Nine in 10 tablet, smartphone owners go online as part of daily routine
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- Figure 28: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
- Men more likely to review the news, women to check social networks
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- Figure 29: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by gender, April 2012
Types of Websites Visited in the Past 30 Days
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- Key points
- Overview
- Nearly all respondents visit websites at least monthly
- News- and transaction-related websites are most popular
- Entertainment viewing most often related to videos, music use predicted to increase
- SNS visits—particularly Facebook—more likely to be done on mobile devices
- Reference and travel/leisure site visits are less frequent
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- Figure 30: Types of websites visited in the past 30 days, April 2012
- Regardless of type of website, vast majority access via home PCs
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- Figure 31: Which device is typically used to access specific websites, by type of site, April 2012
- Reasons to visit website driven by content type and needs
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- Figure 32: Reasons for visiting websites, by type of site, April 2012
- News-related websites
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- Figure 33: Visited news-related website (news, sports, and weather) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 34: Reasons for visiting news-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
- Figure 35: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by age, April 2012
- Transaction-related websites
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- Figure 36: Visited transaction-related websites (shopping and finance) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
- Online purchasing incidence remains relatively steady since 2008
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- Figure 37: Any online shopping in past year, 2008-11
- Figure 38: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
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- Figure 39: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by gender, April 2012
- Entertainment-related websites
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- Figure 40: Visited entertainment-related websites (music, video, and games) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 41: Reasons for visiting entertainment-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
- Figure 42: Reasons for visiting entertainment-related websites (music, video, and games), by gender, April 2012
- TV advertising: streaming video as a marketing message
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- Figure 43: Comcast Cable/Xfinity StreamPix, “Stream, stream, stream” TV ad, 2012
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- Figure 44: Hulu Plus, “Hulu nation: an evil plot to destroy the world” TV ad, 2012
- Figure 45: Hulu Plus, “Alien forces: an eviler plot to destroy the world” TV ad, 2012
- Social networking websites
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- Figure 46: Visited social networking website in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 47: Reasons for visiting social networking websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
- Figure 48: Reasons for visiting social networking websites, by gender, April 2012
- Usage of social networks
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- Figure 49: Social networking websites visited in past 30 days, April 2010-December 2010 vs. April 2011-November 2011
- Reference-related websites
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- Figure 50: Visited reference-related website (health and educational) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 51: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
- Figure 52: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and educational), by gender, April 2012
- Travel/leisure-related websites
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- Figure 53: Visited travel/leisure-related website in past 30 days (travel research, booking, and leisure planning), by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 54: Reasons for visiting travel/leisure-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
Online Research for Unfamiliar Venues/Services
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- Key points
- Three quarters go online to research unfamiliar venues/services
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- Figure 55: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by service, April 2012
- Women more likely than men to engage in online research
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- Figure 56: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by gender, April 2012
- Oldest—and surprisingly, youngest—adults least likely to research online
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- Figure 57: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by age, April 2012
Online Activities and Resulting Actions
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- Key points
- What do you do when you’re bored? Go online…and buy something
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- Figure 58: Online activities and resulting actions, by gender, April 2012
- Online activities and actions reflect general age-related technology trends
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- Figure 59: Online activities and resulting actions, by age, April 2012
- Mobility encourages browsing and buying
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- Figure 60: Online activities and resulting actions, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
Smartphone Owners and Online Behavior
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- Key points
- Smartphones account for more than half of mobile phones
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- Figure 61: U.S. sales of smartphones and feature phones, at current prices, 2006-12
- Women more attached to their smartphone
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- Figure 62: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by gender, April 2012
- Lower-income respondents have strongest bond with their smartphones
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- Figure 63: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by household income, April 2012
Preference for Online vs. Offline
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- Key points
- For most activities, in-person/live conversations preferred over online
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- Figure 64: Preferred channel for social interaction, shopping, movies, and news, by those who do the activity, April 2012
- Majority prefer to socialize in person…online looks to be a substitute
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- Figure 65: Preferred channel for social interaction, by gender, April 2012
- More adults aged 65+ than younger adults say they prefer online communication
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- Figure 66: Preferred channel for social interaction, by age, April 2012
- For shopping, about half have “no preference for online/offline” or prefer online
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- Figure 67: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline, by gender, April 2012
- Gifts, electronics, purchases for kids compete with in-store for purchasing
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- Figure 68: Any online purchase by category (net of PC, phone, and tablet) vs. in-person purchase, December 2011
- As household income increases, preference for shopping online also increases
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- Figure 69: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
- Watching movies and news preferred live, reading—online
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- Figure 70: Preferred channel for watching movies/news, reading news articles, online vs. offline, by gender, April 2012
- Movie and news consumption by age reflects technology-related adoption trends
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- Figure 71: Preferred channel for watching movies/news, reading news articles, online vs. offline, by age, April 2012
Attitudes Toward Living Online
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- Key points
- Attitudes toward time spent online
- Internet addiction? One in five want to spend more time online
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- Figure 72: Attitudes toward time spent online, by gender, April 2012
- Youngest adults always connected, wasting time…still wanting more
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- Figure 73: Attitudes toward time spent online, by age, April 2012
- Attitudes toward offline needs
- When offline and online meet…time to disconnect or time to multitask?
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- Figure 74: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by gender, April 2012
- TV advertising: “Online anywhere anytime” as a marketing message
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- Figure 75: AT&T/Apple Computer iPhone 4S, “The Summoner” TV ad, 2012
- Younger adults more accepting of concomitant offline/online interaction
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- Figure 76: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by age, April 2012
- Attitudes toward social networks
- Women more positive than men toward social networking
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- Figure 77: Attitudes toward social networking, by gender, April 2012
- Engagement with social networking declines with age
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- Figure 78: Attitudes toward social networking, by age, April 2012
Attitudes and Opinions About the Internet
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- Key points
- Positive feelings toward the internet continue to grow
- Traditional offline tasks—reading news and shopping—show greatest online increase
- Privacy, search functionality, and locally tailored sites are most important
- Word-of-mouth increases trust in websites, but most return to familiar sites
- Email marketing acceptance increases…but majority still say they don’t want it
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- Figure 79: Attitudes and opinions about the internet, January 2005-November 2011
Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Age and household income of online sample impact online behavior
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- Figure 80: Age groups of online sample, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 81: Household income groups of online sample, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Living online drivers: computer type ownership and internet connections
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- Figure 82: Computer type ownership, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 83: Use of any online/internet computer services and where service is accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
- Typical online behavior during weekdays
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- Figure 84: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Types of websites visited in the past 30 days
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- Figure 85: Types of websites visited in the past 30 days, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Online activities and resulting actions
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- Figure 86: Online activities and resulting actions, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Smartphone owners and online behavior
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- Figure 87: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Attitudes toward living online
- Attitudes toward time spent online
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- Figure 88: Attitudes toward time spent online, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 89: Time spent on the internet in the last seven days, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
- Attitudes toward offline needs
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- Figure 90: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Attitudes and opinions about the internet
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- Figure 91: Attitudes and opinions about the internet, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
Appendix: Other Useful Consumer Tables
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- Typical online behavior during weekdays
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- Figure 92: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by age, April 2012
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- Figure 93: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by household income, April 2012
- Types of websites visited in the past 30 days
- News-related websites
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- Figure 94: How news-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 95: How news-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 96: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by gender, April 2012
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- Figure 97: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 98: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Transaction-related websites
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- Figure 99: How transaction-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 100: How transaction-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 101: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by age, April 2012
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- Figure 102: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 103: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Entertainment-related websites
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- Figure 104: How entertainment-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 105: How entertainment-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 106: Reasons for visiting entertainment-related websites (music, video, and games), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Social networking websites
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- Figure 107: How social networking websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 108: How social networking websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Reference-related websites
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- Figure 109: How reference-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 110: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
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- Figure 111: How reference-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 112: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and education), by age, April 2012
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- Figure 113: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and education), by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 114: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and education), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Travel/leisure-related websites
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- Figure 115: How travel/leisure-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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- Figure 116: How travel/leisure-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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- Figure 117: Reasons for visiting travel/leisure-related websites (travel research, booking, and leisure planning), by gender, April 2012
- Online research for unfamiliar venues/services
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- Figure 118: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 119: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Online activities and resulting actions
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- Figure 120: Online activities and resulting actions, by household income, April 2012
- Smartphone owners and online behavior
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- Figure 121: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by age, April 2012
- Preference for online vs. offline
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- Figure 122: Preferred channel for different activities, online vs. offline, April 2012
- Social interaction
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- Figure 123: Preferred channel for social interaction, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 124: Preferred channel for social interaction, online vs. offline, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Shopping
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- Figure 125: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline, by age, April 2012
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- Figure 126: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Movies and news
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- Figure 127: Preferred channel for watching movies/news, reading news articles, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 128: Preferred channel for watching movies/news, reading news articles, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
- Attitudes toward living online
- Attitudes toward time spent online
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- Figure 129: Attitudes toward time spent online, by household income, April 2012
- Attitudes toward offline needs
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- Figure 130: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by household income, April 2012
- Attitudes toward social networks
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- Figure 131: Attitudes toward social networking, by age, April 2012
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- Figure 132: Attitudes toward social networking, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 133: Attitudes toward social networking, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
- Attitudes and opinions about the internet
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- Figure 134: Attitudes and opinions about the internet, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
Appendix: Trade Associations
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