How many times have you been to a dinner, only to see everyone's eyes at the table glued to their cell phones as they surf the web, ignoring their company, not to mention food?
Whether one finds it disturbing or not, it's just a sign of the times. According to a Pew Research Center survey, about 21 percent of Americans — 18 years and older — are now reporting that they're online "almost constantly."
The survey unearthed that 73 percent of Americans go online daily and that roughly 21 percent go online "almost constantly." The same survey reported that 42 percent of Americans go online several times throughout a day, while 10 percent surf the web only about once per day. The Pew Research Center survey also found 13 percent of Americans to not use the Internet at all ... which is a pretty significant number as well.
Delving deeper within the whole set of numbers, Pew reports that "fully 36 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds go online almost constantly." They also cited a different survey, showing that 24 percent of teenagers reported going online constantly. That's in comparison with merely 6 percent of people 65 and older who are on the Internet nearly all the time. Makes sense, right?
They also found that adults who live in urban and suburban areas are more likely to go online "almost constantly" than those who live in rural areas: 23 percent of adults living in urban and suburban areas use the Internet almost constantly, compared with 14 percent of rural residents, they report.
Are you surprised by the results of Pew Research Center's survey? Do you think that the numbers sound just about right or did you think that the amount of Americans who constantly surf the net was going to be higher or lower than roughly 21 percent?
