Monday, May 15, 2006

onPhilanthropy - Internet Imitates Life

onPhilanthropy - Internet Imitates Life: "Internet Imitates Life
By: Sara Lee, 05/12/06

What are Americans doing online? The simple answer is everything. Checking the weather. Researching a product or service. Getting the news. Paying bills. Posting classified ads. Sending email. Meeting new friends. Buying groceries. And the list goes on.

For the most part, the online world mirrors the offline world. People bring to the Internet the activities, interests, and behaviors that preoccupied them before the Web existed. It is more than mere convenience that draws 73% of American adults online. In the digital age, more information and better information is more easily and quickly accessible. This changes the way we make decisions.

And it isn't just the small tasks that have Internet consumers online. It is the major life decisions too. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, nearly half of U.S. users went online for help with decisions such as finding a college for their child or looking for a new place to live. The survey reported that some 45 percent of Internet users - an estimated 60 million Americans - said the Internet helped them make big decisions or negotiate a major life moment during the previous two years."

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