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Average
American Means PC Ownership , Internet Connection...Almost |
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By
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, December 1, 2004 |
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Almost
three-fifths of American households own a PC, and nearly all of those
households have some kind of Internet connectivity. However, the rate of
broadband Internet use is much lower—about 27 percent of American homes
have such a connection, or 46 percent of PC owners. The flip side is
that there are still tens of millions of Americans who have never owned
a PC. Furthermore, some groups of Americans have less than half the
adoption rate of other Americans.
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Why is this important?
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Anyone that
believes that all Americans are home computer users with fast, broadband
Internet connections are just barely a quarter right. More importantly,
there is a persistent gap between the connected and disconnected, with
some market segments having five times the adoption rate of others.
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These are some of
the insights culled from the latest research undertaken by MetaFacts,
Inc., based on responses to questionnaires submitted by 32,130 U.S.
households. The responses showed that about 58 percent of U.S. homes own
a PC, representing 64.3 million households. The most likely to own a
computer are the affluent empty nesters and older SINKs (single income
no kids), whose rate is 25 percent higher than average. The least likely
are the single heads of households who are 75 or older; whose rate is 40
percent less than average. But, interestingly, almost all other groups
are within 15 percent of the norm for the general population.
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The rate of
Internet connectivity (of any kind) is 57 percent, or only one point
lower than the rate of PC ownership. Apparently, if they are going to
have a PC, they are going to connect it. In all groups the rate of
Internet connectivity is within a few points of the rate of PC
ownership.
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However, the same cannot be said of broadband Internet
connections. Only 27 percent of households have one
(although this still amounts to almost 30 million
subscribers) and the adoption rate varies considerably
among various groups. Unsurprisingly, affluent,
traditional families are the most likely to have a
broadband Internet connection. In fact, they are 53
percent more likely than the average American household
to have it. They are closely followed by affluent, young
singles; affluent empty nesters and older SINKs; DINKs
(double income no kids); working parents; and younger,
mid-income empty nesters.
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The least likely to have a broadband connection are
single heads of households who are 75 or older. Their
rate of connection is about a third of the average.
Married heads of households who are 75 and older follow
next, but are nearly half the average, as are single
active seniors, plus middle-income older singles. The
next tier are the married active seniors, who are
connected at about three-fourths the average rate. Most
of the other classifications clustered around the
average.
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Meanwhile, there are still pockets of resistance to the
computer revolution, especially among the aged. Single
heads of household who are more than 75 years old are
twice as likely as average to report no PC usage. That
might seem like a niche, but it’s still 2.7 million
households. The next group that is least likely to use a
PC are the married heads of households who are at least
75—but they are only about a third more likely than
average to be non-users. Older, mid- to low-income
singles and single active seniors are in that same tier
as well. (The least likely to not use a PC are affluent
singles, regardless of age.) The scattered resistance is
enough to add up to 35 million households without a PC—a
significant market, but since they are committed
non-users the question is whether they are a viable
market.
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Lifecycle Stage and Home Computer / Broadband Use(Projected
Number of Households)
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Lifecycle |
Total Households |
No PC Usage |
Home Owned PC |
Home PCs & Broadband Internet
Connection |
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Affluent Singles/Unmarried,
Younger |
5,880 |
1,173 |
3,329 |
2,254 |
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Affluent Singles/Unmarried,
Older |
7,696 |
1,455 |
3,966 |
2,014 |
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Low/Mid Income
Singles/Unmarried, Younger |
7,312 |
2,527 |
3,481 |
1,699 |
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Low/Mid Income
Singles/Unmarried, Older |
8,370 |
3,460 |
3,953 |
1,240 |
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DINKs |
5,410 |
1,353 |
3,372 |
1,984 |
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Working Parents |
12,293 |
3,467 |
7,759 |
4,125 |
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Single Parents |
8,463 |
3,032 |
4,514 |
2,054 |
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Affluent Traditional Families |
6,033 |
1,799 |
4,068 |
2,530 |
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Low/Mid Income Traditional
Families |
9,873 |
2,986 |
6,235 |
2,310 |
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Affluent Empty Nesters/SINKs,
Younger |
1,055 |
304 |
681 |
357 |
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Affluent Empty Nesters/SINKs,
Older |
8,807 |
1,831 |
6,372 |
3,283 |
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Low/Mid Income Empty Nesters,
Younger |
1,326 |
430 |
831 |
434 |
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Low/Mid Income Empty Nesters,
Older |
12,042 |
3,435 |
7,282 |
2,902 |
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Single Active Seniors |
5,452 |
2,274 |
2,619 |
759 |
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Married Active Seniors |
5,330 |
1,686 |
3,367 |
1,082 |
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Married, Household Head 75 +
Years |
1,944 |
830 |
965 |
245 |
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Single, Household Head 75+
Years |
4,215 |
2,699 |
1,473 |
362 |
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Total |
111,500 |
34,739 |
64,266 |
29,633 |
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Source: MetaFacts,
Inc. – Technology User Profile – 2004 Annual
Edition |
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Background & Methodology |
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only found in one place, the Technology User Profile from MetaFacts. The
Technology User Profile market research information service is based on
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population - including technology users and non-technology users. Drawn from
more than 30,000 surveys per year reporting on over 250 questions, it is the
longest-running, most comprehensive total market technology study available. TUPdates are brief
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