- PERCENT OF THE U.S. POPULATION USED COMPUTERS AT WORK SOFTWARE
- PERCENT OF THE U.S. POPULATION USED COMPUTERS AT WORK TV
Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Americans believe that the Internet industry is doing a good job serving its consumers again, only 7 percent think it is doing a bad job.ĭespite some early fears, most Americans do not think the use of computers in the workplace displaces workers or depresses wages. Only banks (73 percent) and hospitals (72 percent) have comparably positive ratings, but both have higher negatives (24 percent each).
PERCENT OF THE U.S. POPULATION USED COMPUTERS AT WORK SOFTWARE
More than three out of four (78 percent) think computer software companies serve consumers well, while only 7 percent think their service is poor.
Most Americans also view the computer industry positively.
PERCENT OF THE U.S. POPULATION USED COMPUTERS AT WORK TV
Americans are more evenly divided in their views on the impact of television: 46 percent believe that TV is making life better, 34 percent think it is making life worse. Sixty-eight percent believe the Internet is making life better (14 percent believe it is making life worse).
More than eight out of ten see computers as making life better for Americans (9 percent think computers are making life worse). Just over half believe that the computer has given people more control over their lives (17 percent believe it has diminished their control). Most Americans see the computer’s impact on society as mainly positive. The landslide vote for the computer may be due in part to its novelty, but Americans clearly regard the computer as a major technological discovery. Asked to choose, from a list of eight options, the two most significant technological developments of the 20th century, Americans put the computer (named by 62 percent) at the top of the list by a large margin over the automobile (34 percent), television (21 percent), and the airplane (16 percent). The experiences of the past two decades have left most Americans feeling quite positive about the general impact of computers on national life and receptive to the possibilities of the Internet. Three-fourths of Americans (74 percent) believe that the benefits of scientific research have outweighed the disadvantages. Large majorities of Americans believe that science and technology make lives healthier, easier, and more comfortable (90 percent) and that science and technology will provide more opportunities for the next generation (84 percent). When asked to rate on a scale of 0 to 100 their interest in 11 issues, Americans ranked new medical discoveries highest (an average of 82), followed in fourth and fifth places by new scientific discoveries (67) and new inventions and technologies (65). Virtually all Americans younger than 60 say they have used a computer (92 percent), and most have used the Internet (75 percent) or sent an e-mail message (67 percent).Īmerica’s Internet Revolution is taking place among people already disposed to believe strongly in the benefits of new technology. By 1997 that share had more than doubled, to 36 percent, and today more than half (54 percent) go online.
In 1995 only 14 percent of Americans said they went online to access the Internet or to send or receive e-mail. As the new century begins, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) have used the Internet some time in their lives. Only five years ago, fewer than one in five Americans (18 percent) had ever used the Internet. The Internet stage of the revolution started in the mid-1990s. Share of the Public with Access to Computers at Home and at Work, 1985-99 The increase in home computer ownership was even more striking, quadrupling from 15 percent in 1985 to 60 percent by century’s end (table 1). Between 19, the share of Americans who used a computer at work or at home more than doubled, from 30 percent to 70 percent. Because of First Amendment concerns and the difficulty of regulating this international technology, the government will find it hard to provide the kind of oversight the public wants.ĭuring the first stage of the Computer and Internet Revolution, computer use grew rapidly. The second stage of the revolution is not only transforming American life, but also leading to calls for federal government protection from perceived threats presented by specific Internet content. What began in the 1980s as the Computer Revolution has extended its reach and become the Computer and Internet Revolution. The United States is now in the second stage of a major technological transformation. The authors are part of a team conducting ongoing polling on American’s attitudes about domestic policy issues.