Growth in Internet Use and Access to Social Media

According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau survey on “Computer and Internet Use in the United States,” computer ownership has increased with 78.5% of all households having a desktop or laptop computer and 63.6% having a handheld computer In addition, 74.4% of all households reported Internet use. Computer ownership and Internet use was concentrated among relatively young householders, Asian or White households, and those with high incomes, located in metropolitan areas, and relatively high levels of education [1].

Smartphone use was reported by 51.6% of Asian respondents, about 48.0% of white non-Hispanics and blacks, and 45.4% of Hispanics. The usage rates for blacks and Hispanics were similar, with 48.2% of individuals 15 years old and older reporting smartphone use [2].

Internet users in the United States perform a wide a variety social media related tasks on the Internet. These include sending instant messages, taking part in chat rooms or online discussions with other people, using social networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn, and using Twitter. Details on Internet usage are shown in Table 2.1.

The growth of Internet usage is a global phenomenon. There are several sources of statistics on Internet usage for much of the world, but there is little empirical data on Internet usage in totalitarian countries like North Korea. Internet usage varies widely around the world. Among Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, in 2014, 95% of the adult population of Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Luxembourg accessed the Internet, but just over half of the population in Turkey and less in Mexico did. From 2006 to 2014, total Internet usage rates in OECD member countries increased by 22 percentage points, from 60% to 82%. In addition, some lagging countries began to catch up because of greater availability of mobile broadband. In 2014, half of the OECD’s adult population used a mobile or smartphone to connect to the Internet. The OECD also reported that in 2014 over 80% of 65-74-year-olds in Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Norway reported using the Internet in compared to less than 10% in Mexico and Turkey [3]. In Canada, about 83% of residents used the Internet in 2012, 48% from a handheld device [4].

Citizens of the world’s poorest countries are experiencing a surge in mobile telephone use, according to a report by the United Nations Telecommunications Agency, but Internet usage in those nations still lags far behind. During the first decade of the twenty-first century, connectivity in the 48 countries classified as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) rose by 28%, resulting in increased mobile access to almost 250 million people, but there are still fewer Internet users in the LDCs [5]. Overall, over one billion households in the world have Internet access, but more than half of the world’s population still does not use the Internet [6]. More detailed Internet usage statistics can be found at the International Telecommunication Unions website (www.itu.int).

There are about 3.2 billion Internet users worldwide, according to the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency’s World Fact Book, which also lists the top ten countries by Internet usage (in millions, July 2015 estimate):

Table 2.1 Internet Activities of U.S. Adults, 2011

(Continued)

Table 2.1 (Continued) Internet Activities of U.S. Adults, 2011

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 (131st Edition), United States Census Bureau.

• 1. China 687.9
• 2. India 325.4
• 3. United States 239.6
• 4. Brazil 120.7
• 5. Japan 118.5
• 6. Russia 104.6
• 7. Nigeria 86.1
• 8. Germany 70.8
• 9. Mexico 69.9
• 10. United Kingdom 59.0