More Fuel for the Sales Staff

Internet usage is up one-third since the second quarter 1997, to 21% of U.S. adults, or 41.5 million people, according to a CyberDialogue/FindSVP survey.

Eighty-five percent of adults online use the Web, and 75% use email. However, 15.9 million U.S. adults tried the Internet in the past 12 months and for whatever reason are no longer users.

Thomas E. Miller, vice president of Cyber Dialogue and developer of the American Internet User Survey, was quoted as saying: “We first noticed this trend in the second quarter of 1997 and realized that by not taking into account user attrition, some surveys were providing inflated Internet user numbers. The prospects for future growth become more complicated when you consider non-user interest in using the Internet and user churn.”

The survey also found that 23.8 million adults expressed interest in signing up for Internet access within the next 12 months, an increase of more than 2 million users who expressed the same interest in the second quarter of 1997.

Other findings from the report include usage by gender (58% male) and daily usage (51%).