October
Computer Use in the United States
Population Characteristics
At work, school, and home, the personal computer has become a basic tool. In October 1984, 1989, 1993, and 1997, the Census Bureau asked questions in the Current Population Survey (CPS), to assess ownership and use of computers. The 1997 survey, summarized in this report, also included questions on the Internet. Some data discussed here are not in the text tables but are available elsewhere. See “More Information” on page 11. had obtained it the year of the survey or the previous year, compared with 39.1 percent in 1993, and 28.6 percent in 1989. Computer presence was most likely (75.9 percent) in households with yearly family incomes of $75,000 or more, while only 15.6 percent of households with incomes below $25,000 had a computer (Table A). Households with school age (6 to 17 years) children were far more likely than those without to have a computer (51.0 percent compared with 31.0 percent). Households with two or more people were twice as likely as one person households to have a computer (42.4 percent and 20.0 percent respectively). Computer presence in the home rose in general across many segments of society between 1993 and 1997.
1997
Issued September 1999 P20-522
Current Population Reports
By Eric C. Newburger
More than one in three American households had computers.
In October 1997, 37.4 million American households, or 36.6 percent, had computers. This is up substantially from 22.8 percent in 1993, 15.0 percent in 1989, and 8.2 percent in 1984 (Figure 1). Half of households with a computer (49.1 percent)
Figure 1.
Almost three quarters of children used a computer someplace.
Children’s access to a computer at home or at school has increased substantially in recent years.1 In 1993, only 31.9 percent of children had access to a computer at home, and 60.6 percent used a computer at school. In 1997, half of children (49.7 percent) had a computer available at home, while 70.8 percent of the 55.0 million enrolled children used a computer at school. Despite these increases, access to and use of computers continued to vary depending
Computer Presence in the Home, and Use Anywhere, by Year
[In percent] Households with computers Adult use at home, school, or work Children's use at home or school
74.4
58.5 46.0 36.0 30.2 18.3 8.2 28.1 22.8 15.0 36.6 47.1
1984
1989
1993
1997
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1984, 1989, 1993, and 1997.
1 While 62,000 children 15 to 17 years old or about 0.1 percent of all children used a computer at work, this did not contribute significantly to overall computer use by children.
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U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
1
Table A. Households With Computers and Year of Purchase, by Presence of Children, Family Income, and Householder Characteristics: October 1997
[Numbers in thousands. Civilian noninstitutional population] Year newest computer purchased Percent 36.6 37.3 48.6 21.0 42.1 28.7 40.8 19.3 19.4 9.1 25.7 43.4 63.2 15.6 38.8 60.6 75.9 26.4 20.0 42.4 51.0 31.0 35.2 36.5 33.4 43.4 1996 or 1997 18,386 5,114 10,301 2,970 12,646 5,740 15,386 1,150 971 870 3,952 5,747 7,817 2,794 5,174 4,091 4,753 1,575 2,398 15,988 7,401 10,984 3,340 4,227 6,092 4,727 Before 1996 19,024 4,128 10,711 4,185 12,794 6,230 16,228 1,216 739 770 4,409 5,735 8,111 2,788 5,648 4,623 4,319 1,646 2,873 16,151 7,172 11,852 3,660 4,570 6,023 4,771
Characteristics Total household ALL HOUSEHOLDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AGE OF HOUSEHOLDER 18 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 54 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GENDER OF HOUSEHOLDER Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RACE OF HOUSEHOLDER Non-Hispanic White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF HOUSEHOLDER Less than high school diploma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school diploma/GED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelor's degree or more. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAMILY INCOME Under $25,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 to 49,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 to 74,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HOUSEHOLD SIZE 1 person. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 or more people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHILDREN IN HOUSEHOLD With children 6 to 17 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Without children 6 to 17 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REGION Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102,158 24,777 43,245 34,136 60,467 41,691 77,455 12,240 8,804 17,991 32,488 26,461 25,217 35,778 27,862 14,375 11,959 12,184 26,375 75,783 28,595 73,563 19,887 24,075 36,319 21,878
Computer in household Number 37,410 9,242 21,013 7,155 25,439 11,970 31,614 2,367 1,710 1,639 8,360 11,482 15,928 5,581 10,822 8,714 9,072 3,221 5,271 32,139 14,573 22,836 6,999 8,796 12,115 9,498
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1997.
upon life circumstances and situations (Table B). Home computer access was more likely for children 12 to 17 years (55.1 percent) than for children 3 to 7 year old (42.9 percent). Home access by individual ages ranged between 38.6 percent and 56.7 percent for children 3 to 17 years. Non-Hispanic White children were more likely to have a computer at home (61.5 percent) than nonHispanic Black children (24.2 percent), or Hispanic children (23.0
percent).2 Children living in the South were less likely than those living elsewhere to have a computer at home (43.6 percent and 52.9 percent). Educational attainment of the householder continued to have a strong influence on the presence of a computer in household. While just 15.2 percent of children in households where the householder had
2
less than a high school education had a computer, 80.0 percent of the children in households where the householder had a bachelor’s degree or more had a computer available to them. Children’s family income had a similarly strong relationship with computer presence in the household. Just 20.0 percent of children with family incomes under $25,000 lived in a household with a computer, while 88.4 percent of
Hispanics may be of any race.
2
U.S. Census Bureau
Table B. People Ages 3 to 17 Years by Computer and Internet Use: October 1997
[Numbers in thousands. Civilian noninstitutional population] Computer at home Characteristics Total people 3 to 17 years 59,890 12,121 24,175 23,594 30,630 29,260 38,560 9,537 8,758 Use computer at home Percent2 82.4 59.9 84.2 89.4 82.3 82.6 84.0 75.0 74.7 Use Internet at home Percent2 21.7 2.0 16.4 34.0 22.4 21.0 23.2 12.5 16.4 Enrolled in school Use Use Use computer Use Intercomputer Internet anynet anyYes at school at school where where Number 55,033 8,119 23,907 23,007 28,120 26,913 35,725 8,846 7,649 Percent3 70.8 34.9 79.1 74.8 71.3 70.3 74.2 66.3 61.8 Percent3 16.6 1.5 13.4 25.3 17.0 16.3 19.0 13.0 10.3 Percent1 74.4 38.0 83.4 84.0 74.6 74.3 80.5 65.1 58.1 Percent1 22.6 1.7 18.9 37.1 23.0 22.2 27.1 14.1 12.1
Yes Number 29,787 4,921 11,874 12,992 15,355 14,432 23,717 2,311 2,012 Percent1 49.7 40.6 49.1 55.1 50.1 49.3 61.5 24.2 23.0
TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AGE 3 to 5 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 to 11 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 to 17 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . GENDER Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RACE Non-Hispanic White . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic Black . . . . . . . . . Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF HOUSEHOLDER Less than high school diploma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school diploma/GED . . . Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bachelor's degree or more . . . FAMILY INCOME Under $25,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 to 49,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,000 to 74,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . Not reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REGION Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 2 3
10,188 19,291 16,669 13,743 18,302 17,223 10,261 8,662 5,444 11,214 14,091 20,317 14,269
1,550 7,735 9,511 10,990 3,656 8,859 7,425 7,655 2,192 6,058 7,565 8,856 7,308
15.2 40.1 57.1 80.0 20.0 51.4 72.4 88.4 40.3 54.0 53.7 43.6 51.2
69.6 79.2 82.4 86.5 74.1 80.0 84.7 88.0 78.7 82.9 84.0 81.2 81.8
12.2 15.2 20.1 29.0 12.1 15.6 24.6 30.9 20.7 24.6 19.2 21.1 22.8
8,951 17,664 15,458 12,959 16,199 15,800 9,644 8,322 5,067 10,438 13,061 18,654 12,879
61.5 71.2 72.8 74.3 65.7 72.2 74.6 75.0 68.7 69.3 74.8 71.9 66.3
11.3 15.8 18.0 19.7 13.4 17.2 17.6 20.9 16.4 16.4 18.4 15.8 16.2
56.2 72.1 78.0 86.9 61.6 75.6 84.1 90.0 70.8 74.3 78.2 73.9 71.6
11.3 18.7 24.6 34.0 13.5 21.4 29.0 38.2 20.3 24.3 23.8 20.7 22.8
Among all children. Among children with a computer in the home. Among those children enrolled in school.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1997.
those with family incomes above $75,000 had a computer at home. Also, as in previous years, children living with householders in managerial and professional positions were the most likely to live with a computer (77.5 percent).
More than four out of five children living in a household with a computer used it.
Many of the differences apparent in access to a computer at home in 1997 also appeared in children’s usage levels of these computers.
Use of available home computers by children increased, from 74.7 percent in 1993 to 82.4 percent in 1997. However, use was relatively low among the very young (59.9 percent for children 3 to 5 years living in a household with a computer), higher for those 6 to 11 years (84.2 percent), and highest for the oldest children 12 to 17 years (89.4 percent). Rates of children’s home computer use varied across race and ethnic groups as well. Rates of use for non-Hispanic Whites were higher
than for non-Hispanic Blacks or Hispanics (84.0 percent, 75.0 percent, and 74.7 percent respectively). The rates for nonHispanic Blacks and Hispanics were not significantly different. Home computer use also varied strongly with the education of the householder. About 86.5 percent of children in homes where the householder had a bachelor’s degree or more used an available home computer. Only 69.6 percent of children in households where the
U.S. Census Bureau
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Figure 2.
Computer Use Among K-12 Students, by Location and Year
[In percent]
Public School Private School
householder did not have a high school diploma used the home computer. Similar differences in available computer usage occurred across family income groups. Among children in families with less than $25,000 income, 74.1 percent used a computer present in the home, but 88.0 percent of those with family incomes of $75,000 or more used their home computer.
Total Computer Use by K-12 Students 88.2 82.2 73.1 66.8 60.3 52.6 40.4 33.8
Far more children used a computer at school than at home.
In 1997, 39.0 million children ages 3 to 17 years used a computer at school, compared with only 24.5 million at home. Additionally, as in previous years, levels of school computer use continued to differ across some social and demographic groups. Among school children 6 to 11 years old, 79.1 percent used a computer at school. Among school children 12 to 17 years old, 74.8 percent used a computer at school, while only 34.9 percent of those 3 to 5 years old used a computer at school. Across race and ethnic groups, non-Hispanic Whites experienced higher levels of school computer use (74.2 percent) than either nonHispanic Blacks (66.3 percent) or Hispanics (61.8 percent).
1984
1989
1993
1997
School Computer Use
74.7 60.9 45.9 32.0 27.4 49.9 62.5
75.8
1984
1989
1993
1997
Home Computer Use 65.3
Private school students had no advantage over public school students in use of computers at school.
In 1984 and 1989, private school children in grades K-12 had significantly higher rates of computer use at school than students in public schools. But by 1993 the gap had closed (Figure 2).3 Public schools
40.1 28.0 23.0 17.6 11.7 17.3
42.5
1984
1989
1993
1997
3
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1984, 1989, 1993, and 1997.
The estimates were not significantly different.
4
U.S. Census Bureau
maintained parity with private schools in 1997 (74.7 percent and 75.8 percent). Yet, at home, public school children had much lower rates of computer use than private school children. This disparity had grown over time. In 1984, 17.6 percent of private school students had a computer at home and used it, compared with 11.7 percent of public school students. By 1997, 65.3 percent of private school children used a computer at home, compared with 42.5 percent of public school children. This difference probably reflects the various socio-economic differences present between public and private school students. However, because of the strong leveling effect our nation’s public schools have in providing access to computers for children who otherwise would have none, the gap in overall computer use between public and private school students is much smaller than the gap in home computer use. Consequently, when considering both school use and home use together, 82.2 percent of public school students used a computer some place compared with 88.2 percent of private school students.
tion, 79.4 percent of girls played games on the home computer compared with 86.5 percent of boys. In the other uses surveyed, boys and girls had similar levels of use. Overall, in a change from previous years, children most frequently used a home computer for educational programs (93.3 percent of home users), with games the second most common use (83.0 percent). In 1993, children used home computers most often for games (70.3 percent). About 56.2 percent of all children used the home computer for school assignments, and 38.9 percent for word processing. One quarter of children (24.6 percent) used the computer for “learning to use computers.” About 18.0 percent of children used the computer for graphics and design, and 14.7 percent used it for e-mail and communications. Only 1.7 percent used their home computer to connect to a school computer, and 2.0 percent reported other uses.
Figure 3.
Computer Use Among Adults, by Location and Year
[In percent]
Use by All Adults, Anywhere 47.1 18.3
1984
28.1
36.0
1989
1993
1997
Home Use Among Adults With a Computer at Home 58.4 65.6 70.9
53.3
1984
1989
1993
1997
Work Use Among Employed Adults 49.8
36.8 24.6
45.8
1984
1989
1993
1997
Nearly half of American adults used a computer at home, work, or school.
About 92.2 million people age 18 and over (47.1 percent) used a computer in one or more places in 1997. These figures are up significantly from 1993 (67.4 million, or 36.0 percent), and nearly triple the number in 1984 (31.1 million, or 18.3 percent). The individual components of adult computer use also increased (Figure 3). The proportion of adults with a computer at home rose to 40.7 percent, up from 25.6 percent in 1993, and more than a fourfold increase over the 1984 figure of 9.1 percent. The proportion of adults
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1984, 1989, 1993, and 1997.
Boys and girls use computers almost equally, but for different activities.
Boys were no more likely than girls to have a computer at home (50.1 percent and 49.3 percent) or to use it (82.3 percent and 82.6 percent). Very little difference existed between boys and girls in the level of use of school computers (71.3 percent and 70.3 percent). However, while 42.0 percent of girls used the household computer for word processing, only 36.0 percent of boys did. In addi-
using these computers also rose. In 1984, more than half of adults (53.3 percent) living with a computer at home used it. In 1997, more than seven out of ten (70.9 percent) did so. Half of employed adults (49.8 percent) used a computer on the job, a significant increase over 1993 (45.8 percent), and more than twice the proportion using computers at work in 1984 (24.6 percent). Adult school use also increased, to 62.3 percent of school enrolled adults, up from 53.8 percent in 1993, and twice the proportion using computers at school in 1984 (30.8 percent).
U.S. Census Bureau
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Table C. People 18 Years and Older by Computer and Internet Use: October 1997
[Numbers in thousands. Civilian noninstitutional population]
Computer at home Use computer at home
1
Employed Use Internet at home Percent
2
Enrolled in school Use Internet at work Percent
3
Characteristics
Total people 18 years and over 195,689 24,929 39,248 44,027 33,718 53,766 93,897 101,792 145,672 22,232 19,459
Yes Number Percent 79,594 10,788 16,442 22,609 16,854 12,901 39,646 39,948 66,179 4,875 4,313
Yes
Use computer at work
3
Yes
Use computer at school
Use Internet at school
Use computer Use anyInternet where anywhere Percent1 22.1 31.6 27.3 27.1 25.1 7.9 24.8 19.6 24.9 12.8 10.5
Percent
2
Number Percent 128,198 16,178 31,995 36,443 27,075 16,508 68,801 59,397 96,371 13,665 12,733
Number Percent4 Percent4 Percent1 16,918 10,559 3,370 1,798 965 225 7,706 9,211 12,014 2,193 1,554 62.3 70.3 54.2 43.6 45.5 31.7 65.6 59.6 61.9 66.1 59.3 36.0 42.9 29.4 19.9 19.9 11.7 40.3 32.5 37.7 33.0 26.1 47.1 58.1 57.2 58.0 55.3 20.7 47.0 47.3 51.4 34.3 28.9
TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . AGE 18 to 24 years. . . . . . 25 to 34 years . . . . . 35 to 44 years . . . . . 45 to 54 years . . . . . 55 years and over . . GENDER Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . RACE Non-Hispanic White . Non-Hispanic Black . Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . . . . EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Less than high school diploma . . . . High school diploma/GED . . . . . Some college . . . . . . Bachelor's degree or more . . . . . . . . . . . FAMILY INCOME Under $25,000 . . . . . 25,000 to 49,999 . . . 50,000 to 74,999 . . . 75,000 and over . . . . Not reported . . . . . . . HOUSEHOLD SIZE 1 person . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 people . . . . . . . . 4-5 people . . . . . . . . 6-7 people . . . . . . . . 8 or more people . . . REGION Northeast . . . . . . . . . Midwest . . . . . . . . . . South . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 2 3
40.7 43.3 41.9 51.4 50.0 24.0 42.2 39.2 45.4 21.9 22.2
70.9 70.1 79.4 73.9 69.3 57.4 72.1 69.6 72.6 65.6 59.6
35.2 36.5 42.8 36.7 34.4 23.0 39.5 31.0 36.8 26.4 25.9
49.8 37.1 53.1 53.9 54.1 39.8 44.1 56.5 53.9 40.0 30.2
16.6 9.4 18.2 18.8 18.7 12.2 17.5 15.5 18.4 11.2 7.7
33,789 65,968 52,324 43,609 58,312 54,727 31,650 27,910 23,090 26,350 103,165 55,250 8,754 2,170 38,340 45,427 69,025 42,897
4,500 20,397 26,031 28,667 10,024 22,017 19,282 21,438 6,832 5,279 39,681 30,014 3,889 731 15,308 18,751 25,508 20,027
13.3 30.9 49.7 65.7 17.2 40.2 60.9 76.8 29.6 20.0 38.5 54.3 44.4 33.7 39.9 41.3 37.0 46.7
41.5 58.0 73.3 82.4 68.1 68.5 72.2 75.0 66.0 89.4 71.9 68.3 58.8 52.4 68.2 70.3 72.0 72.0
15.4 22.4 36.2 46.6 29.2 30.5 36.5 43.7 29.2 46.6 36.3 33.4 26.2 18.2 34.7 33.3 36.3 36.1
13,820 42,324 37,291 34,762 28,457 39,083 25,501 22,335 12,821 13,950 65,987 41,292 5,650 1,318 24,337 31,063 44,480 28,318
11.9 36.4 55.6 75.0 29.0 47.6 61.3 71.0 43.4 54.5 51.0 49.3 35.0 23.1 49.7 49.8 48.6 51.9
1.5 6.6 16.1 35.3 6.4 13.3 21.7 31.2 13.4 21.0 17.0 15.7 10.1 5.7 15.9 15.8 15.9 19.1
1,669 2,522 9,557 3,170 4,896 4,203 3,063 3,221 1,534 1,303 7,762 6,601 1,013 239 3,112 4,001 5,562 4,243
58.7 60.9 65.8 54.6 62.9 59.9 62.4 63.9 63.2 57.8 60.0 65.5 63.5 67.7 65.2 68.8 64.1 51.7
19.5 34.1 40.8 31.8 36.8 32.1 35.7 40.5 35.5 36.0 34.8 38.0 32.8 36.4 38.0 42.7 35.0 29.6
11.1 34.9 61.6 76.3 23.9 48.9 67.7 77.9 36.2 36.0 46.0 56.4 40.4 31.1 45.6 48.6 44.9 50.5
3.2 10.9 29.2 45.1 9.2 19.7 33.4 46.5 15.2 17.0 21.4 26.8 17.6 12.0 21.3 22.1 20.6 25.2
Among all adults. Among adults with a computer in the home. Among employed adults. 4 Among those adults enrolled in school. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1997.
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U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 4.
Adult Gender Difference in Home Computer Use, 1984-1997
[In percent] Male Female
70.0 63.1 65.2 51.4 42.8 61.1
72.1
69.6
Hispanics (59.6 percent). Home computer use increased with the educational attainment of the individual, from 41.5 percent among those without a high school diploma to 82.4 percent among those with a bachelor’s degree or more. Among adults with family incomes below $25,000, 68.1 percent used their home computers, while 75.0 percent of people with family incomes of $75,000 and above used them. People who used a computer at work had very high rates of home computer use (82.5 percent), as did people who held managerial or professional positions (82.3 percent). Among adult users of home computers, 70.5 percent used them for word processing, the most common use. Other common uses included games (53.6 percent), e-mail and communications (44.5 percent), bookkeeping/finances/taxes/household records (43.6 percent), working at home (34.3 percent), and connecting to a computer at work or school (14.5 percent).
1984
1989
1993
1997
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1984, 1989, 1993, and 1997.
Adult home computer ownership varied considerably with characteristics such as age, race, income, education, and region (Table C). Adults 35 to 44 years were the most likely to have a home computer (51.4 percent), and people 55 and older were the least likely (24.0 percent). About 76.8 percent of adults in households with yearly family incomes of $75,000 or more had a computer at home, compared with only 17.2 percent of those with incomes below $25,000. Similarly, 65.7 percent of people with a bachelor’s degree or more lived in a household with a computer available, compared with 13.3 percent of those without a high school diploma. Across occupational categories, people who held managerial or professional positions were the most likely to have a computer at home (66.5 percent). Geographically, just as in 1993, adults living in the South were the least likely to have a computer in their home, at 37.0 percent, and those in the West the most likely, at 46.7 percent.
Women’s computer use approached men’s.
Of all adults with access to a computer at home, men continued to exhibit marginally higher rates of use than women (72.1 percent and 69.6 percent). However, this home computer use “gender gap” shrank considerably over the four surveys, beginning in 1984, when men’s home computer use was 20.3 percentage points higher than that of women’s (Figure 4). Considering computer use at any location, there is no gender gap, as men and women have statistically similar rates of use (47.0 percent of men, and 47.3 percent of women). Home use also varied among adults of different ages and ethnic backgrounds. While four-fifths (79.4 percent) of people 25 to 34 years used an available home computer, only 57.4 percent of those 55 or older did so. Non-Hispanic Whites (72.6 percent) had higher rates of home computer use than nonHispanic Blacks (65.6 percent) or
More adults used a computer at work than at home or school.
Of the 92.2 million adult computer users, over 63.9 million used a computer at work, compared with 56.4 million at home users, and 10.5 million adult school computer users. Some overlap exists, that is, people using a computer at work might also use a computer at home, school, or both. Individuals with more education more often used a computer at work, with 75.0 percent of people with a bachelor’s degree or more using a computer on the job, compared with 11.9 percent of those without a high school diploma. Among general occupational
U.S. Census Bureau
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Table D. Use of Computers at Work by People 18 Years and Older by Gender: October 1997
[Numbers in thousands. Civilian noninstitutional population] Male Employment Employed Number TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OCCUPATION Managerial & professional . . . . . . . . . Technical, sales, administrative support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Precision prod., craft, repair . . . . . . . Operators, laborers, fabricators . . . . Farm, forestry, fisheries . . . . . . . . . . . INDUSTRY Agriculture/forestry/fisheries. . . . . . . . Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transport/communication/utilities . . . Wholesale/retail trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finance/insurance/real estate . . . . . . Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Public administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,801 19,403 13,617 6,702 12,746 13,637 2,695 2,488 556 7,507 14,087 6,559 13,421 3,430 17,590 3,164 Percent 100.0 28.2 19.8 9.7 18.5 19.8 3.9 3.6 0.8 10.9 20.5 9.5 19.5 5.0 25.6 4.6 Use computer at work Number 30,332 14,586 8,657 1,384 3,163 2,317 225 305 213 1,186 6,467 2,733 5,280 2,484 9,492 2,171 Percent 44.1 75.2 63.6 20.7 24.8 17.0 8.4 12.3 38.3 15.8 45.9 41.7 39.3 72.4 54.0 68.6 Employed Number 59,397 18,708 24,106 10,056 1,269 4,615 644 845 86 797 6,570 2,828 11,772 4,778 29,234 2,487 Percent 100.0 31.5 40.6 16.9 2.1 7.8 1.1 1.4 0.1 1.3 11.1 4.8 19.8 8.0 49.2 4.2 Female Use computer at work Number 33,544 13,837 17,078 1,367 338 838 86 255 79 519 3,234 2,088 4,956 4,188 16,175 2,049 Percent 56.5 74.0 70.8 13.6 26.6 18.2 13.3 30.2 91.9 65.2 49.2 73.8 42.1 87.6 55.3 82.4
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, October 1997.
categories, people in managerial and professional positions and technical, sales, and administrative support positions had by far the highest rates of computer use at work (74.6 percent and 68.2 percent, respectively). Women more often used computers on the job than men (56.5 percent compared with 44.1 percent) (Table D). The higher rate of on-the-job computer use among women (which was not mirrored for overall computer use) may be determined in part by the types of jobs they held. “Technical, sales, and administrative support” occupations use computers extensively and accounted for 40.6 percent of all working women but only 19.8 percent of all working men. This category includes such specific occupations as sales clerks, secretaries, and administrative
clerical workers. Within this category, 70.8 percent of women used a computer at work, compared with only 63.6 percent of men. While “technical, sales, and administrative support” accounted for only 28.5 percent of all men using computers on the job, this category accounted for fully half (50.9 percent) of all women using computers at work.
differences in computer use. Among men in mining and construction, 38.3 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, used a computer at work. Among women the rates were 91.9 percent and 65.2 percent, a sizable difference.
Men and women used computers at work for different tasks.
A higher proportion of women computer users employed the computer for word processing at work than men (59.8 percent compared with 53.9 percent). A higher proportion of women kept customer records and accounts with a computer (54.0 percent compared with 47.2 percent) or used the computer for bookkeeping (31.6 percent compared with 28.7 percent).
Women in every industry had higher levels of computer use at work than men.
Within a given industry, many women hold technical or administrative jobs, which tend to have high levels of computer use. In mining and construction, for example, men are more likely to be machine operators or craft workers, and women, office workers. This accounts for the very sizable gender
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However, a higher proportion of men used the computer for doing analysis (34.3 percent of men and 20.1 percent of women), programming (20.0 percent and 10.5 percent), inventory control (34.0 percent and 24.1 percent), e-mail (51.3 percent and 43.1 percent), graphics and design (24.3 percent and 17.0 percent), sales and marketing (24.6 percent and 19.9 percent), spreadsheets (35.7 percent and 29.4 percent), databases (36.8 percent and 31.6 percent), and calendar/ scheduling (39.2 percent and 36.0 percent). Among all at-work computer users, people in managerial and professional positions had some of the highest rates for specific uses. For example, 42.8 percent of managers used spreadsheets, 42.6 percent used databases, 45.2 percent used the computer for calendar/scheduling, and 58.6 percent used e-mail and communications. The finance, insurance, and real estate industry had the highest overall rate of computer use among its workers, with 81.3 percent using a computer on the job. This includes high levels for many specific uses, such as word processing (65.5 percent), keeping customer records and accounts (69.8 percent), e-mail and communications (53.0 percent), and calendar/scheduling (40.1 percent). Among all at-work computer users, word processing remained the most common use of computers on the job, at 57.0 percent. Other common work uses were keeping customer records and accounts (50.7 percent), e-mail and communications (47.0 percent), calendar/scheduling (37.5 percent), databases (34.1 percent), spreadsheets (32.4 percent), and
bookkeeping (30.2 percent). Less commonly, workers used computers for inventory control (28.8 percent), analysis (26.8 percent), invoicing (24.1 percent), sales and marketing (22.1 percent), graphics and design (20.4 percent), desktop publishing and newsletters (15.3 percent), programming (15.0 percent), and other uses (12.6 percent).
general, these differences magnified the differences attributable to the presence of a computer, described earlier in this report. Children used the Internet at home for a variety of reasons, most often to find government, business, health, or education information (76.1 percent). The next most common uses were e-mail (57.5 percent); chat rooms (32.1 percent); looking for news, weather, sports (28.0 percent); news groups (5.1 percent); taking courses (3.1 percent); and other uses (10.9 percent). Though boys had slightly higher rates of home Internet use than girls (22.4 percent and 21.0 percent), boys and girls used the Internet for many of the same reasons. However, boys more often looked up news/sports/weather information than girls (35.4 percent compared with 19.7 percent). In addition, girls were more likely to use the Internet to send and receive e-mail (61.1 percent of girls compared with 54.4 percent of boys). Overall, boys’ and girls’ school Internet use did not differ significantly (17.0 percent of boys compared with 16.3 percent of girls).
One in five Americans used the Internet.
One major use of computers that has grown rapidly in the past decade is accessing the Internet. At school, home, and work, the three major places where people access the Internet, 56.7 million Americans 3 years and above (22.2 percent) used the Internet in 1997. Home was the most common place for people to access the Internet, with 34.5 million users, followed by the workplace, with 21.3 million users. About 15.3 million people accessed the Internet at school. Overlap exists in that people who used the Internet at home may also have used it at school, work, or both. Unlike computer use in general, where children were more likely to be users, the overall proportions of Internet use among children and adults did not differ significantly. Among children 3 to 17 years, 22.6 percent used the Internet compared with 22.1 percent of adults 18 years and over. However, children and adults have very different patterns of Internet use.
School was the most common place for children to access the Internet.
Of the 13.5 million children using the Internet, 9.1 million did so at school. About 6.5 million children used the Internet at home. While 2.1 million children used the Internet both at school and at home, more than half of all children used the Internet only at school (7.0 million). School Internet use varied by socioeconomic characteristics, but much less dramatically than home Internet
One fifth of children with home computers used them to access the Internet.
Even among those with a computer in the household, differences in levels of Internet use existed among various socio-economic groups. In
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use. This difference demonstrated the leveling effect of schools in Internet access and use. For example, among all children regardless of computer ownership, those in households with family incomes above $75,000 were eleven times as likely as children in households with family incomes below $25,000 to have used the Internet from home (27.3 percent compared with 2.4 percent). But children from the highest income households were only about 1.7 times as likely as those from the lowest income households to have used the Internet from school (20.0 percent compared with 11.9 percent). NonHispanic White children were nearly five times as likely as non-Hispanic Black children, and nearly four times as likely as Hispanic children, to have used the Internet at home (14.2 percent of non-Hispanic Whites compared with 3.0 percent of nonHispanic Blacks, and 3.8 percent of Hispanics). But non-Hispanic White children were less than one and a half times as likely as non-Hispanic Black children, and only about twice as likely as Hispanic children, to have used the Internet from school (17.6 percent of non-Hispanic Whites compared with 12.1 percent of nonHispanic Blacks, and 9.0 percent of Hispanics).4
work, 28.0 million did so from home. The next most common place was work, where approximately 21.3 million people used the Internet. Finally, 6.1 million adults used the Internet at school. Some overlap exists because people using the Internet at work might also use it at home or at school. Overall levels of adult Internet use varied across socio-economic groups in a pattern similar to adult computer use. Non-Hispanic Whites, individuals from higher family income households, and those with bachelor’s degrees or more, had the highest rates of use. However, adult Internet use levels varied more noticeably by gender, with many more men using the Internet than women (24.8 percent compared with 19.6 percent). Adult Internet use varied with age. While 31.6 percent of those 18 to 24 years used the Internet someplace, only 7.9 percent of those 55 years and over did. Adults used the Internet at home most often for e-mail or finding government, business, health, or education information (80.6 percent and 80.5 percent). The next most common uses were looking for news, weather, sports (50.5 percent); checking schedules, buying tickets, or making reservations (24.9 percent); chat rooms (19.4 percent); news groups (16.9 percent); shopping (14.6 percent); taking courses (4.2 percent); and other uses (8.5 percent). In a pattern similar to that between boys and girls, men were more likely than women to use the Internet at home to look for news, weather,
sports (57.8 percent and 41.3 percent). Men also looked at news groups more than women (20.5 percent and 12.5 percent) and checked schedules, bought tickets, or made reservations somewhat more frequently (26.5 percent compared with 22.9 percent). In other areas, men and women used the Internet more similarly.
Source of the Data
Most estimates in this report come from data obtained in October 1997 from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Some estimates are based on data obtained from the CPS in earlier years. The Census Bureau conducts the CPS every month, although this report uses only data from the October survey.
Accuracy and reliability of the data
Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. All comparisons presented in this report have taken sampling error into account and meet Census Bureau standards for statistical significance. Nonsampling errors in surveys may be attributed to a variety of sources, such as how the survey was designed, how respondents interpret questions, how able and willing respondents are to provide correct answers, and how accurately answers are coded and classified. The Census Bureau employs quality control procedures throughout the production process— including the overall design of surveys, testing the wording of questions, review of the work of interviewers and coders, and statistical review of reports.
More adults used the Internet from home than anywhere else.
Of the 43.2 million adults who used the Internet at home, school, or
4
Percents based on all children, including those without computers at home, and those not enrolled in school.
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The CPS employs ratio estimation, whereby sample estimates are adjusted to independent estimates of the national population by age, race, gender, and Hispanic origin. This weighting partially corrects for bias due to undercoverage, but how it affects different variables in the survey is not precisely known. Moreover, biases may also be present when people who are missed in the survey differ from those interviewed in ways other than the categories used in weighting (age, race, gender, and Hispanic origin). All of these considerations affect comparisons across different surveys or data sources. For further information on statistical standards and the computation and use of standard errors, contact Martha Jones, Demographic Statistical Methods Division at 301-457-4183 or via Internet e-mail (martha.l.jones @ccmail.census.gov).
More Information
Detailed tables with characteristics of households, children, and adults, by computer presence in the home, computer use, Internet use, and other variables are available on the Internet (http://www.census.gov); search by clicking on ‘C’ for ‘Computer Use’ under the ‘Subjects A-Z’ heading on the Census Bureau home page. To receive a paper copy of these tables, send your request for “PPL-114, Computer Use in the United States: October 1997" along with a check or money order in the amount of $25.00 payable to Commerce-Census-88-00-9010, to U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, P .O. Box 277943, Atlanta, GA 30384-7943, or call our Statistical Information Office on 301-457-2422. A copy of these tabulations will be made available to any existing CPR P20
subscriber without charge, provided that the request is made within 3 months of the issue date of this report. Contact our Statistical Information Office on 301-457-2422.
Contacts
Statistical Information Staff : pop@census.gov, 301-457-2422 Eric Newburger: eric.charles. newburger@ccmail.census.gov, 301-457-2464
User Comments
The Census Bureau welcomes the comments and advice of users of its data and reports. If you have any suggestions or comments, please write to: Chief, Population Division U. S. Census Bureau Washington, DC 20233 or send e-mail to: pop@census.gov
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