The rise of the e-citizen

Lee Rainie – Director

E-Gov Web-Enabled Government Conference2.12.03

“Oh, like you know something the Internet doesn’t know.”

The double-edged Internet

Good wire• Overcomes differences• Creates opportunities• Encourages tolerance• Revives community• Fosters creativity• Enriches cultural

production• Enhances participation

Bad wire• Erodes tradition• Creates balkanization• Reduces privacy• Destroys indigenous

cultures• Cuts back community

involvement• Encourages crime and

anti-social behavior

The big picture

• 116 million American adults are online – 61% of all adults

• >35 million children, including 78% of teenagers

• 64 million-70 million online on any given day

• There is great churn in the Internet population

Popular activities on a typical day online

• Email – 51% • Search engine – 29%• News – 26%• Surfing for fun – 22%• Hobby info. – 20%• Factoid search – 19%• Work research – 19%• Check weather – 18%• Product info. – 14%• Info. about leisure

activities – 13%

• Sports – 12%• Inst. messaging – 12%• Political info. – 12%• Govt. Web sites – 9%• Banking – 10%• Play game – 7%• Medical info. – 7%• Buy a product – 4%• Job info. – 4%• Create content – 4%• Download music – 4%

Our findings - 1

People use email to enhance connection and increase communication

Our findings – 2

• Gender• Race/ethnicity• Socioeconomic

status• Age

• Parental status• Internet-experience

level• Personal outlook • Social environment

Different people use the Internet differently

Our findings – 3The Internet helps in

everyday lifeF

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amily

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ernm

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Fin

ance

sE

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Our findings - 4

People use the Internet more seriously as they gain experience

• Their work-use grows• The variety of their activities expands• They perform more transactions• Their email content becomes more

consequential

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The growth in people’s online activities over

a year’s time

Our findings – 5The quality of Internet access matters

“Look, Mom! A broadband digital subscriber line followed me home. Can we keep it?”

Our findings - 6E-patients are creating a new

health care environment

clueless, isolated, doctor-dependent patient

the net-savvy, well-connecteddoctor-independent, end-user

Our findings – 7

E-citizens are creating a new

civic environment

A lot/some A little/not at allFederal government 49% 48%State government 45% 53%Local government 30% 66%

How much does the Internet improve your interactions with government?

The big picture on e-citizenship

• 68 million users of government Web sites

• Demographics - male, middle-aged, relatively well educated, financially upscale

• Other demographics – government workers, government trusters

What people do at govt. Web sites

Get tourism and recreation information 77%Do research for school or work 70%Download government forms 63%Find out what services a government agency provides 63%Seek information about a health or safety issue 62%

Send coments about an issue to a government official 34%Get information or apply for a government job 24%Get information about elections, such as where to vote 22%Get information that helped you decide how to vote in an election 21%Get information about a lottery 21%Get information about or apply for government benefits 20%File your taxes 16%Renew a driver's license or auto registration 12%Renew a professional license 7%Get a fishing, hunting, or other recreational license 4%Pay a fine 2%

Get information about potential business opportunities relevant to you or your place of employment 34%

The rise of e-citizens

• 42 million researched a policy

• 23 million sent comments

• 14 million gathered info. to help them cast votes

• 13 million participated in organized lobbying campaigns

How people rate the sites

Federal sites 80% 76% 24%State sites 76% 76% 24%Local sites 41% 62% 38%

Percent who have visited this type of

site

The percent who rate sites excellent

or good

The percent who rate the sites fair

or poor

The Internet and municipal life - 1

• 88% of local officials use email and the Internet in their official lives

• 61% use email to communicate with citizens at least weekly

• 81% say use of email gives them a better understanding of public opinion, but only 26% say email has opened their eyes to new pockets of opinion

The Internet and municipal life - 2

• Two thirds of local officials think email use is a modestly effective p.r. tool

• 35% say they have been on the receiving end of email lobbying campaigns

• But they say phone calls matter more

E-politics: 2000-2002 and beyond

• Fourfold increase in Internet use for political information – impact grows

• Traditional news sources take over

• Youth audience grows, but no new voters

• Partisan searchers confirm their biases

• Political organizations are big winners

Sept. 11 and e-government

• What users did

• The commons of the tragedy

• How government webmasters responded and learned

The revolution of rising expectations

• 65% of all Americans and 82% of Internet users expect government info. and services on Web sites

• 71% of those who use them say they get what they want at least most of the time

Your next search for government information?

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Phone call

Visit Letter

Special concern: Digital Divide

Half of non-users want to stay that way

Special concern: Privacy

The contradiction is that Americans say they are very concerned about privacy,

but do many trusting things online

About us

Lrainie@pewinternet.org

Pew Internet & American Life Project

1100 Connecticut Ave. NW – Suite 710

Washington, D.C. 20036

202-296-0019

http://www.pewinternet.org/