Sunday, November 28, 2010

Use internet and earn more


The fact that people who make more money spend more time on computers and connected devices doesn’t come as a major surprise. Yet it’s still impressive that a full 95% of people with an income of $75,000 or more use cellphones and the Internet, according to a recent study from Pew’s Internet & American Life Project.“Those in higher income households are more likely to use the Internet on any given day, own multiple Internet-ready devices, do things involving money online and get news online,” Jim Jansen wrote in Pew’s summary of the findings.
Still, some of the results only verify what we already assumed; more income means more mobile devices and more Internet consumption. But what’s interesting is where the tipping point for Internet use along the span of household incomes occurs.
For instance, 70% of those who make less than $75,000 use the Internet at least occasionally, while 95% of those who make more than that use the Internet at least occasionally. Within that 95% of people who use the Internet, 99% of them use the Internet at home. Only 93% of Internet users in the lower income bracket use the Internet at home.

Not surprisingly, the study found a similar pattern for technology ownership, too.
  • When it comes to desktop computers, 79% of households that earn $75,000 or own at least one, compared to just 55% of households with lower income.
  • For laptop ownership, the rate was even less for lower income households at 47%, though 79% of higher income households owned laptops.
  • A major gap exists between income groups that own MP3s and iPods, too. Some 70% of higher income households own them, compared to just 42% of households that earn less.
  • Tablets and e-readers, though less prolific in either group, are owned by only 3% of lower income households; 12% of higher-income households own e-readers and another 9% own tablets, like the iPad.
The gap between income groups and tech ownership seems closest for one specific kind of device: game consoles. Just more than half (54%) of higher-income households own game consoles, compared to 41% of households that earn less than $75,000.
Researchers also took into account different age groups, races, communities (suburban vs. rural vs. urban), education levels and other factors that might seem to influence Internet and technology use. But, according to the report, the differences among those groups were slight. The biggest determining factor still seemed to be income.
“The control factor did not add major explanatory effect to the relationship that was not explained by income level,” the report states. “Simply put, a person’s household income is an independent predictor of the likelihood that she or he will be an Internet and e-mail user and to be associated with the online activities we cite in this report.”

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