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Living Online - US - July 2012

SCOPE AND THEMES
What you need to know
Definition
Data sources
Consumer survey data
Advertising creative
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Living online: the numbers
Figure 1: World internet penetration, by geographic region, 2011
Time online increases, internet traffic explodes
Living online drivers
Equipment
Figure 2: Ownership of computers, smartphones, and tablets, April 2012
Connection
Figure 3: Where online/internet service is accessed, October 2010-November and 2011 vs. 2005
Speed
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
Figure 5: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
News- and transaction-related websites are most popular
Figure 6: Types of websites visited in the past 30 days, April 2012
Most go online to research unfamiliar venues/services
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
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
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
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
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?
Figure 11: Delete Facebook 2012
INSIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
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
Inspire Trend: Life Hacking
Inspire Trend: Why Buy
INDICATORS OF LIVING ONLINE
Key points
Number of internet users worldwide quadrupled over the past 10 years
Figure 12: Global internet use with various technology introductions noted, December 1995-March 2012
Nearly eight in 10 North Americans use the internet
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
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
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
Figure 17: Global mobile traffic data, by region, 2011-16
Consumers increasingly mobile, using multiple devices
Figure 18: Number of mobile devices owned by mobile users, 2011-16
LIVING ONLINE DRIVERS
Key points
Desktops connect nearly eight in 10, tablet adoption rate is unprecedented
Figure 19: Ownership of computers, smartphones, and tablets, April 2012
Age and affluence drive mobile device ownership
Figure 20: Ownership of computers, smartphones, and tablets, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Accessing is growing across all points
Figure 21: Where online/internet service is accessed, 2005-11
Broadband use at home doubled over last five years
Figure 22: Method of accessing internet at home, 2005-11
Increasing mobile network connection speed drives greater data use
Figure 23: Projected average mobile Network connection speeds (in kbps), by region, 2010-16
INNOVATIONS AND INNOVATORS
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
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
Figure 25: Ad Council/discovertheforest.org, “Unplug” TV ad, 2012
TIME SPENT ONLINE PER WEEK
Key points
Adults aged 18-24 spend more than 10 hours a week online
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
Key points
Checking in with news and social connections is a daily routine for many
Figure 27: Typical online behavior during weekdays, April 2012
Nine in 10 tablet, smartphone owners go online as part of daily routine
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
Figure 29: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by gender, April 2012
TYPES OF WEBSITES VISITED IN THE PAST 30 DAYS
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
Figure 30: Types of websites visited in the past 30 days, April 2012
Regardless of type of website, vast majority access via home PCs
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
Figure 32: Reasons for visiting websites, by type of site, April 2012
 NEWS-RELATED WEBSITES
Figure 33: Visited news-related website (news, sports, and weather) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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
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
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
Figure 39: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by gender, April 2012
 ENTERTAINMENT-RELATED WEBSITES
Figure 40: Visited entertainment-related websites (music, video, and games) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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
Figure 43: Comcast Cable/Xfinity StreamPix, “Stream, stream, stream” TV ad, 2012
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
Figure 46: Visited social networking website in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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
Figure 49: Social networking websites visited in past 30 days, April 2010-December 2010 vs. April 2011-November 2011
 REFERENCE-RELATED WEBSITES
Figure 50: Visited reference-related website (health and educational) in past 30 days, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
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
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
Figure 54: Reasons for visiting travel/leisure-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
ONLINE RESEARCH FOR UNFAMILIAR VENUES/SERVICES
Key points
Three quarters go online to research unfamiliar venues/services
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
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
Figure 57: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by age, April 2012
ONLINE ACTIVITIES AND RESULTING ACTIONS
Key points
What do you do when you’re bored? Go online…and buy something
Figure 58: Online activities and resulting actions, by gender, April 2012
Online activities and actions reflect general age-related technology trends
Figure 59: Online activities and resulting actions, by age, April 2012
Mobility encourages browsing and buying
Figure 60: Online activities and resulting actions, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
SMARTPHONE OWNERS AND ONLINE BEHAVIOR
Key points
Smartphones account for more than half of mobile phones
Figure 61: U.S. sales of smartphones and feature phones, at current prices, 2006-12
Women more attached to their smartphone
Figure 62: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by gender, April 2012
Lower-income respondents have strongest bond with their smartphones
Figure 63: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by household income, April 2012
PREFERENCE FOR ONLINE VS. OFFLINE
Key points
For most activities, in-person/live conversations preferred over online
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
Figure 65: Preferred channel for social interaction, by gender, April 2012
More adults aged 65+ than younger adults say they prefer online communication
Figure 66: Preferred channel for social interaction, by age, April 2012
For shopping, about half have “no preference for online/offline” or prefer online
Figure 67: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline, by gender, April 2012
Gifts, electronics, purchases for kids compete with in-store for purchasing
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
Figure 69: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
Watching movies and news preferred live, reading—online
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
Figure 71: Preferred channel for watching movies/news, reading news articles, online vs. offline, by age, April 2012
ATTITUDES TOWARD LIVING ONLINE
Key points
 ATTITUDES TOWARD TIME SPENT ONLINE
Internet addiction? One in five want to spend more time online
Figure 72: Attitudes toward time spent online, by gender, April 2012
Youngest adults always connected, wasting time…still wanting more
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?
Figure 74: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by gender, April 2012
TV advertising: “Online anywhere anytime” as a marketing message
Figure 75: AT&T/Apple Computer iPhone 4S, “The Summoner” TV ad, 2012
Younger adults more accepting of concomitant offline/online interaction
Figure 76: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by age, April 2012
 ATTITUDES TOWARD SOCIAL NETWORKS
Women more positive than men toward social networking
Figure 77: Attitudes toward social networking, by gender, April 2012
Engagement with social networking declines with age
Figure 78: Attitudes toward social networking, by age, April 2012
ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS ABOUT THE INTERNET
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
Figure 79: Attitudes and opinions about the internet, January 2005-November 2011
IMPACT OF RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN
Key points
Age and household income of online sample impact online behavior
Figure 80: Age groups of online sample, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Figure 81: Household income groups of online sample, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Living online drivers: computer type ownership and internet connections
Figure 82: Computer type ownership, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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
Figure 84: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Types of websites visited in the past 30 days
Figure 85: Types of websites visited in the past 30 days, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Online activities and resulting actions
Figure 86: Online activities and resulting actions, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Smartphone owners and online behavior
Figure 87: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Attitudes toward living online
Attitudes toward time spent online
Figure 88: Attitudes toward time spent online, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Figure 89: Time spent on the internet in the last seven days, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
Attitudes toward offline needs
Figure 90: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Attitudes and opinions about the internet
Figure 91: Attitudes and opinions about the internet, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
APPENDIX: OTHER USEFUL CONSUMER TABLES
Typical online behavior during weekdays
Figure 92: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by age, April 2012
Figure 93: Typical online behavior during weekdays, by household income, April 2012
Types of websites visited in the past 30 days
News-related websites
Figure 94: How news-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Figure 95: How news-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Figure 96: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by gender, April 2012
Figure 97: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by household income, April 2012
Figure 98: Reasons for visiting news-related websites (news, sports, and weather), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Transaction-related websites
Figure 99: How transaction-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Figure 100: How transaction-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Figure 101: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by age, April 2012
Figure 102: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by household income, April 2012
Figure 103: Reasons for visiting transaction-related websites (shopping and finance), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Entertainment-related websites
Figure 104: How entertainment-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Figure 105: How entertainment-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Figure 106: Reasons for visiting entertainment-related websites (music, video, and games), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Social networking websites
Figure 107: How social networking websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Figure 108: How social networking websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Reference-related websites
Figure 109: How reference-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Figure 110: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites, by internet-enabled device ownership, April 2012
Figure 111: How reference-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Figure 112: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and education), by age, April 2012
Figure 113: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and education), by household income, April 2012
Figure 114: Reasons for visiting reference-related websites (health and education), by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Travel/leisure-related websites
Figure 115: How travel/leisure-related websites are typically accessed, by gender, age, and household income, April 2012
Figure 116: How travel/leisure-related websites are typically accessed, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
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
Figure 118: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by household income, April 2012
Figure 119: Process for gathering information online for an unfamiliar venue or service, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Online activities and resulting actions
Figure 120: Online activities and resulting actions, by household income, April 2012
Smartphone owners and online behavior
Figure 121: Smartphone owners’ online behavior, by age, April 2012
Preference for online vs. offline
Figure 122: Preferred channel for different activities, online vs. offline, April 2012
Social interaction
Figure 123: Preferred channel for social interaction, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
Figure 124: Preferred channel for social interaction, online vs. offline, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Shopping
Figure 125: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline, by age, April 2012
Figure 126: Preferred channel for shopping, online vs. offline by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Movies and news
Figure 127: Preferred channel for watching movies/news, reading news articles, online vs. offline, by household income, April 2012
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
Figure 129: Attitudes toward time spent online, by household income, April 2012
Attitudes toward offline needs
Figure 130: Attitudes toward need to disconnect, by household income, April 2012
Attitudes toward social networks
Figure 131: Attitudes toward social networking, by age, April 2012
Figure 132: Attitudes toward social networking, by household income, April 2012
Figure 133: Attitudes toward social networking, by race/Hispanic origin, April 2012
Attitudes and opinions about the internet
Figure 134: Attitudes and opinions about the internet, by race/Hispanic origin, October 2010-November 2011
APPENDIX: TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

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