Large majorities of Americans are following coverage of the Olympic Games in London. Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) say they have watched or followed Olympic coverage either on television, online or on social networks.

Television remains far-and-away the leading platform for Olympic coverage; 73% say they have watched coverage on television. Still, 17% say they have watched online or digitally and 12% report they have followed Olympic coverage on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. Most Olympic followers (68%) say they are watching events in the evening after they have already occurred. At the same time, almost a quarter (23%) say they are watching live during the day.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Internet & American Life Project, conducted August 2-5, 2012 among 1,005 adults, finds that NBC’s coverage of the Olympics receives high marks from the public. Overall, 76% of Olympic watchers describe the coverage as excellent (29%) or good (47%); 18% describe it as only fair (13%) or poor (5%).

Although there has been criticism of NBC’s coverage expressed online on social media sites like Twitter, the coverage is rated about equally well by those who are watching online and following on social networks (70% excellent/good) and those watching on television (77%). There is also little difference in the ratings given by those watching events live (85% excellent/good) and those watching in the evening after the events have occurred (75%).

Young people under the age of 30 are much more likely to have followed Olympic coverage on social networking sites than are older Americans. About three-in-ten (31%) of those ages 18-29 have followed coverage on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, compared with 11% of those 30-49, 6% of those 50-64, and just 2% of those 65 and older.

Following Olympic coverage online and on social networks appears to be a supplement rather than a replacement for television viewing. Among those following the Olympics online or on social networks, most (79%) say they are also watching Olympic coverage on television.

The poll finds that those following coverage online or on social networks are no more likely to say they are watching events live than those watching Olympic coverage on television.

The internet is slowly closing in on television as Americans’ main source of national and international news. Currently, 41% say they get most of their news about national and international news from the internet, which is little changed over the past two years but up 17 points since 2007. Television remains the most widely used source for national and international news – 66% of Americans say it is their main source of news – but that is down from 74% three years ago and 82% as recently as 2002.

The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 1-5, 2010 among 1,500 adults reached on cell phones and landlines, finds that more people continue to cite the internet than newspapers as their main source of news, reflecting both the growth of the internet, and the gradual decline in newspaper readership (from 34% in 2007 to 31% now). The proportion citing radio as their main source of national and international news has remained relatively stable in recent years; currently, 16% say it is their main source.

An analysis of how different generations are getting their news suggests that these trends are likely to continue. In 2010, for the first time, the internet has surpassed television as the main source of national and international news for people younger than 30. Since 2007, the number of 18 to 29 year olds citing the internet as their main source has nearly doubled, from 34% to 65%. Over this period, the number of young people citing television as their main news source has dropped from 68% to 52%.

Among those 30 to 49, the internet is on track to equal, or perhaps surpass, television as the main source of national and international news within the next few years. Currently, 48% say the internet is their main source – up 16 points from 2007 – and 63% cite television – down eight points.

The internet also has grown as a news source for people ages 50 to 64; currently 34% say the internet is their main source of national and international news, nearly equal to the number who cite newspapers (38%), though still far below television (71%). There has been relatively little change in the how people age 65 and older get their news. The internet has risen to 14% from 5% in 2007, but is still far behind newspapers (47%) and television (79%) as a main source.

The decline in the share of Americans who cite television as their main source of national and international news crosses all age groups. Over the past three years, the number saying TV is their main source has fallen 16 points among 18-29 year-olds, eight points among those 30 to 49, and six points among those age 50 and older.

TV News Still Dominates Among Less Educated

College graduates are about as likely to get most of their national and international news from the internet (51%) as television (54%). Those with some college are just as likely as college grads to cite the internet as their main source (51%), while 63% cite television. By contrast, just 29% of those with no more than a high school education cite the internet while more than twice as many (75%) cite television.

Similarly, those with household incomes of $75,000 or more are about as likely to get most of their news on the internet (54%) as from television (57%). People with household incomes under $30,000 are far more likely to cite television (72%) than the internet (34%).

There also are different patterns of news consumption across regions of the country. Notably, people living in the West are the most likely to cite the internet as their main source of national and international news (47% vs. 40% in other parts of the country), and the least likely to cite television (55% vs. 68% elsewhere).

Both Cable News and Broadcast News See Declines

Reflecting the slow decline in the proportion of people getting most of their national and international news from television, the numbers specifically citing cable news outlets or broadcast networks as their main news source has fallen. When asked where on television they get most of their news, 36% name a cable network such as CNN, the Fox News Channel or MSNBC; 22% name ABC News, CBS News or NBC News; and 16% say they get most of their national and international news from local news programming.

Compared with five years ago, the share citing a cable network as their main source is down seven points (from 43% to 36%), and the share citing a broadcast network is down eight points (from 30% to 22%). The local news figure has remained relatively constant over this period.

The numbers are still modest but the Internet is beginning to play a role in the news habits of a significant number of American consumers. Over one-in-five Americans now go online — either at home, work or school. Nearly three-fourths of this group sometimes get news from the World Wide Web or from a commercial service.

About 21 million Americans (12% of the voting age population) obtained political or policy news from online sources this year, and of them about 7 million (4%) used the Internet and/or commercial services for information about the Presidential election. The Pew Center’s post- election survey found that 3% of voters on election day said that Internet sites or online services were their principal election news source and as many as 10% of voters said they got some information about the election from the Internet.

While the political campaign was of interest to many online news consumers, even larger electronic audiences — more than four-in-ten online users — regularly follow news of science, health, and technology on the Internet.

As in the past, there is little indication that online news use is supplanting traditional media behavior. Americans who get news on the Internet or from commercial online services read, watch and listen to the news as much as the public at large. In fact, a fair amount of crossover between old and new media is apparent; 42% of online news users said they go on the Internet to follow up on stories they see in newspapers or on TV. There is also substantial incidental consumption of online news. As many as 53% of users said they read news in the course of going online for other purposes.

In the 1996 Presidential campaign, users said they were looking for things not available from traditional media sources and liked the convenience of getting political material online. But in a drama-less election, there was little indication that information obtained on the Internet or on commercial services was particularly compelling to users. Only about one-in-four said they found such information very helpful.

A surprisingly high proportion of election news seekers said they went online for information about Congressional (33%) and local (24%) races this year. Online users are younger on average than the general population and usually not interested in local news, but local online news sites were called up relatively often by the end of the campaign and were well rated for their helpfulness as information providers.

These are the findings of a series of surveys conducted over the course of the year by the Pew Research Center that tracked the use of online sources for information about the campaign. The project, which followed up on our 1995 survey of “Technology in the American Household,” culminated with an in-depth national survey of 1,003 online users in October that explored motivations, patterns of use, and attitudes toward campaign news and information found online.

[NOTE: "Americans Going Online... Explosive Growth, Uncertain Destinations." Times Mirror (now Pew Research) Center for the People & the Press, Washington DC. October 1995.]

The Web sites of major news organizations — both newspapers and television networks — were most often cited as sources of political information, followed by candidate sites and local news sources. About one-in-four rated them as very useful. The Web sites of national news organizations, along with local news sites, received the best ratings; about one-in-three described them as very useful. Of the election-specific sites, CNN/Time AllPolitics attracted the most campaign news consumers (40%), followed by PoliticsNow (16%). Of the partisan sites, Clinton/Gore was better rated than Dole/Kemp. But the House of Representatives home page got a higher rating than the White House Web page.

Half of those who sought election news online (56%) downloaded political news or information from the Internet or from a commercial service. One-in-three took part in public opinion surveys (34%), and a similar percentage participated in online discussions about the election.

A significant number of online election news seekers can be categorized as political junkies. Fully (38%) sought campaign news because they enjoy following politics. However, more of them (59%) said they were motivated by a belief that it is their civic duty to follow politics. About one-in- five (17%) went online to get political news and information for work or school assignments.

The survey found few partisan differences between those who went online for political information and the public at large, particularly when the demographic profile of the online audience is taken into account. Online users are about as interested in politics as most Americans, but are substantially more knowledgeable. For example, 71% were able to identify Bob Dole as the candidate who called for a 15% across-the-board income tax cut compared to 59% of the general public.

Other Highlights of the Report:

• The biggest and perhaps most significant change since 1995 is the increased use of the World Wide Web. Nearly three out of four (73%) report having used the Web, compared to only 21% then. Web use also appears to be more frequent: 51% said they used the Web either yesterday or sometime in the past week, compared to 12% last year.
• Internet users are going online at slightly higher rates than last year. More are seeking information about finances, travel and entertainment, and more are going online for pleasure.
• The largest increase in online activities has occurred among users who go online to get entertainment-related information (30% do this at least weekly, up from 19% in 1995) and for financial information (22%, compared to 14% in 1995).
• How Americans go online has also changed significantly in a year. Twice as many people subscribe to an Internet access provider now. As a consequence, subscriptions to some of the major commercial online services have fallen off. The exception is America Online.
• America Online has emerged as the dominant commercial online service, but many online users are bypassing commercial services in favor of Internet access providers.
• E-mail use has increased to 77% of online users (who send or receive e-mail at least once every few weeks) from 65% in 1995.
• New users more often go online solely for pleasure, compared to more experienced users, and are more apt to spend time browsing than looking for specific information.

The number of Americans going online to an information service or directly to the Internet has more than doubled in the past year, but most consumers are still feeling their way through cyberspace. Few see online activities as essential to them, and no single online feature, with the exception of E-Mail, is used with any regularity. Consumers have yet to begin purchasing goods and services online, and there is little indication that online news features are changing traditional news consumption patterns.

The broader home computer market continues to expand and appears to be maturing. The PC is a regularly used, indispensable household appliance to one in three adults. On a typical day 24 million Americans use a home computer for some personal or work-related task. Moreover, a “new wave” of demographically distinct consumers are being drawn into the market as home computers become more affordable. Surprisingly, CD-ROM drives are now found on almost half of all home PCs, and are seen by consumers as a more essential feature than online services.

These are the principal findings of the Times Mirror Center’s second annual study of the way new information technology is being used by American consumers. The trend survey found the number of Americans subscribing to an online service swelling from 5 million in the winter of 1994 to nearly 12 million by June of this year. This year’s survey, conducted among a national sample of 4005 respondents, also found that 2 million Americans connect to the Internet directly without benefit of a commercial service.

More Capacity Than Usage

The capability of Americans to go online from home grew much more quickly over the past 12 months than did subscriptions to online services. Our findings indicate that currently 18 million homes have modem-equipped computers, compared to 1994 when 11 million households had such machines. Owing to the tremendous sales of modem-equipped computers recently, a great deal of online capacity stands unused — specifically, more than 8 million households containing modem-equipped computers. These consumers represent a clear potential source for the continued rapid expansion of online usage. Most unused modems are on 486 or Pentium machines.

Among those who currently use their modems, the study detected a decided softness in attitudes toward online activities and a fragile pattern of use. Only 32% of those who go online say they would miss it “a lot” if no longer available. This compares to nearly twice as many computer users (63%), newspaper readers (58%) and cable TV subscribers (54%) who would say the same about these services. The frequency of online activity is also modest. Just 20% of online users go online every day.

Users of the three principal commercial services, America Online, Prodigy and CompuServe, were fairly similar in their frequency of usage. However, Prodigy and America Online are used more for pleasure and in the afternoon or evenings. CompuServe and the direct Internet connections are used more for work and more often during the day. Subscribers to each of the commercial services were about equally satisfied with the service delivered. But Americans who access the Internet directly are heavier online users and more satisfied than are those who use commercial services. They also consider online access much more indispensable than do those with commercial services. Fully 18% of commercial subscribers are signed on to more than one service, which is another measure of the unsettled state of the online world.

Online Numbers

                         Millions of Households

Has modem-equipped computer        18

     But modem unused               8

                         Millions of Americans

Ever Go:

Online from home                   14

Online from work or school,

not home                           11

Online to commercial service

or Internet                        12

     Subscribes to more than

     one service                    3

Regular* E-MAIL user               12

Regular* Online news reader         7

Connects to office or school        5

Navigates World Wide Web            5

*Regular refers to respondents who said they engage

in the activity either "daily", "3-5 times a week,"

or "1-2 days per week."

Typically, users go online a few times a week. But the pattern of specific activities suggest that few online features are compelling to them. A majority (53%) send or receive e-mail at least once a week, and many (41%) perform work-related research or communication online. However, relatively small percentages engage in other activities. Just 30% get the news online once a week or more often. Smaller percentages participate in discussion groups (23%), obtain entertainment related (19%) or financial information (14%).

Few Navigate the WWW

The two year old World Wide Web (WWW), which offers a whole new dimension of the Internet is still unchartered waters to most users. Only one in five of all online users (3% of Americans) have ever signed onto the Web. But among online users who have higher speed modems (14,400 baud or higher), use of the Web is far more common (53%). The most common ways that Americans get on to the WWW are through work connections (34%) or online services (33%), and “surfing” is the most popular way of discovering new sites (49%).

There are few signs in the study that use of online services or the Internet is changing traditional consumption patterns for news or goods and other services. Only 4% of all Americans are getting the news online at least once a week, and the overwhelming proportion of them (87%) said this activity has not affected their reliance on traditional news sources. As found in past Times Mirror Center surveys, users of advanced information technology continue to be heavier news consumers than are demographically-comparable samples of non- users. Similarly, commerce online is relatively modest. Only 8% of users have purchased anything via online capabilities within the month prior to the survey.

E-Mail Delivers

In contrast, e-mail appears to be making a real impact on users. Most e-mail users check their e-mail either once a day (29%), or more than once a day (22%). In a typical day, the average e-mail user sends three messages and receives five. One in four e-mail users are members of “listservs” (or electronic mailing lists), and a majority of those participate in more than one listserv. E-mail is sent or received as often for personal reasons (68%) as for work-related reasons (69%).

More than two-thirds of those who use e-mail at work (69%) said it fosters greater communication between upper and lower echelons in an organization. Over one-third (36%) believed it also results in franker communications between bosses and their workers. As many as six in ten who use e-mail for personal reasons said they communicate more often with family and friends because of e-mail (59%). Women reported increased exchanges of this kind more often than men (65% to 56%). In that regard, e-mail is the only regular computer activity in which women engage as frequently as men.

Online activities are closely associated with the substantial proportion of Americans who work at home. Most employed online users (53%) had worked at home at least one day of the week preceding the survey, and fully 20% had worked at home at least one day of the prior week instead of “going in” to work. In comparison, 33% of all employed respondents in the survey had worked at home at least one day of the pre-survey week, and 13% had worked at home at least one day rather than at their regular workplace.

A New Wave of Technology Users

In 1994, the Times Mirror Center estimated that 31% of all American households contained a computer and that 26% of all adults used a home computer at least once in a while. The current poll finds computers in 36% of all households and 32% using a PC. Although more Americans are telecommuting, growth in PC ownership is being fueled by consumers using PCs for personal reasons, not work related ones. Specifically, the frequency of PC use at home for personal reasons rose from 21% to 29%, while use for work or school-related purposes was little changed in the past year.

HOME BASED COMPUTERS*

                         Millions of Households

Has one or more                    32

     Has one only                  24

     Has more than one              9

Acquired in past 24 months         11

Acquired earlier                   22

Has one or more desktops           31

Has one or more laptops             6

Primary Computer:

Mac                                 5

IBM                                24

Other                               3

Computer Chip:

Pentium                             1

486                                 9

386                                 6

Less than 386                       2

Has CD-ROM                         15

*The questions for this table were only asked of

those who ever use their home PC (4% of PC owners

do not use their PC.) However, for the purposes

of this table, we made projections based on all PC owners.

More than one in three of the computers used in American households has been acquired within the past two years and as many as 15% were bought within the past twelve months. Although computers remain appliances of the well educated and the affluent, “new wave” owners (acquired PC within the last two years) are more likely to be middle income, not as highly educated, and younger than those who purchased them more than two years earlier. These new owners are as likely to use their PCs for financial record-keeping as are long-time owners. But they perform less word processing and play games more often. Fewer “new wave” owners use online services, but a greater percentage have CD-ROM drives.

CD-ROMs Catch On

CD-ROMs have achieved significant penetration among home users. The survey found that nearly half of all computer users surveyed (48%) had a CD-ROM drive. Patterns of usage and attitudes toward this feature indicate that CD-ROMs have been better received than online services. Most CD-ROM users (46%) said they were using their drive at least as often as they expected. And compared to online services, a somewhat greater percentage said they would miss their CD-ROM drives “a lot” if no longer available (40% vs 32%). Fully 52% said they use their drive at least once a week, and more than one in four (28%) reported using it more often. This new technology is used as much as word processing programs, and more often than financial record-keeping programs.

Few Burdened By Technology

On broader questions, the polling found that Americans continue to have positive feelings about high-tech in general. As in last years’s survey, two out of three respondents said they like computers and technology. Very few voiced dislike (4%), although almost one in four (24%) had mixed feelings, and a similar number said they felt “overloaded with information” (23%). Most (64%) said they liked having all of the television news shows, magazines, newspapers, and computer information services that are available these days.

Privacy concerns also continue, however. Half of the public worries either a lot (20%) or some (30%) that computers are being used to invade their privacy. But those Americans who have the most experience with high-tech today, the online users, are less worried about computers invading their privacy than are non-users (44% vs. 51%).

Online Politics

In their social attitudes, online users differ from average Americans and they also are unlike people of similar demographic backgrounds who do not go online. Online users are more tolerant people. They are more accepting of homosexuality. They are more in favor of free expression with regard to the kinds of books that should be allowed in public libraries and also to the presence of pornography on the Internet.

On other political dimensions, online users are much the same as non-users. For example, their views about government regulation of business and federal welfare for the needy were not much different from that of the public at large. They are more supportive of government regulation of business, but they hold the same views as non-users about social welfare. Users and non-users were essentially indistinguishable in terms of political party identification.

However, the survey did find one element of the online population that differed from the norm. Those who access the Internet directly are somewhat more likely than commercial service users and the public at large to “understand the frustrations and anger” that may have led to the Oklahoma City bombing of a federal building (20% vs. 14%). Greater “understanding” about the motives was also found among those who participate in online discussions about politics.

Other Findings

Most Americans (54%) now use a computer either at home, at work or at school. The public favors laws to bar pornography from the Internet, 52% to 41%.

Nine percent of American households have given up on computers. They no longer own one.

Eighteen percent of PC users own a laptop. Among online users who own a laptop, 29% sometimes go online while traveling.

Nearly one-half of modem owners (47%) don’t know the baud rate of their units.

Eleven percent of home computer owners go online from a “computer room” within their home. But the most popular rooms for cyberspace departure are home office or study (32%) and living room or den (25%).

More than one in four (28%) have had online sessions that lasted as long as three hours or more.

Almost one in four online users (23%) have an “online buddy” they have never met in person.

More than one-third (35%) of online users have received an electronic news clipping or story from a friend.

Six percent of Americans have a satellite dish, up from 4% last year. Nearly one-in- three (2% of all) has a small disk satellite dish.

The Use of Household Information Technologies By Major Demographic Groups

Percentage Based on Total Respondents

               ------At Home------ Subscribes   Regular

               Computer  Has       To any Online       E-Mail    Used

               User      CD-ROM    Info. Service       User WWW

Total           32        15             6                 7       3

Sex:

  Male         38        18              9                 9       4

  Female       28        13              4                 6       2

Race:

  White        33        16              7                 7       3

  Black        20         8              3                 5       1

  Hispanic     29        12              8                 8       1

Age:

  18-29        38        18              9                12       6

  30-49        41        20              9                 9       3

  50-64        26        12              4                 6       1

  65+           9         4              1                 *       *

Age By Gender:

  18-29

     Male      41        20             14                14       8

     Female    36        16              5                 8       4

  30-49

     Male      44        22             10                 9       5

     Female    38        18              7                 7       2

  50+

     Male      25        10              5                 5       2

     Female    13         6              1                 2       0

Education:

  College+     57        28             15                16       8

  Some College 44        19              8                 9       3

  H.S. Grad    23        10              3                 4       1

< H.S.       11         6              2                 1       *

Family Income:

  $50K+        57        29             14                13       5

  $30-49K      37        18              6                 7       4

  $20-29K      23         9              4                 5       2

< $20K       12         4              1                 2       1

Children

  Kids in Home 42        21              7                 8       3

  No Kids      26        12              6                 7       3

Employment:

  Employed     38        18              9                10       4

  Unemployed   19        10              2                 2       1

  In School    53        24             13                17       7

  Worked at 

    home*      53        26             14                15       5

  Home based

   business    53        25             12                 9       3

Region:

  East         32        17              7                 8       2

  Midwest      28        15              5                 6       2

  South        28        12              6                 7       3

  West         42        19              9                 9       5

City Size

  City         32        16              7                 8       4

  Small town   26        12              5                 5       1

  Suburbs      47        22             10                11       4

  Rural        28        14              5                 6       2

Other Technology:

  Has Satellite 

     dish      30        16              7                 8       5

  Has cellular 

     phone     52        28             12                11       4

  Subscribes to

    cable TV   35        17              7                 8       3

*Respondent worked at home at least one day last week.

As the internet was in its earliest stages as a mass communication medium, the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press undertook a major study investigating the ways in which new and old technology were being integrated into peoples’ lives.

The study is based on a survey of 3,667 adults nationwide, and an additional survey of 400 children between the ages of 13 and 17.