September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society1 Key questions consider in this chapter: Who is on the Internet, and what are they doing? What is the digital divide? How is the Internet changing education? How is the government using the Internet?

September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society2 Internet Usage In 1999 the online population in the United States was over 110 million users and worldwide the online population was estimated to be over 220 million users Internet users tend to be well-educated (40% are college graduates) and higher-income (23% make over $75,000/year) individuals.

September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society3 Internet Usage (cont’d) Top five activities on the Internet: 1.Researching 2.Communicating with friends and family 3.Getting information about products to purchase 4.Retrieving news 5.Finding health information * Purchasing products/services was 6 th

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September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society5 Internet Usage (cont’d) As people become more familiar will the Web, individuals will spend more time online, doing more activities 56% of online users purchase items over the Internet, but 66% of online users who have been on the Internet for over three years purchase items online

September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society6

September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society7

September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society8 Internet Usage (cont’d) In 2000, the United States had almost $409 billion in e- commerce revenues, which accounts for over half of the world’s online revenues In 2000, Germany was the second highest country for e- commerce revenue with $62.8 billion It is estimated that by 2005 all of North America will only account for 30.2% of the world’s online revenues, with Asia and Eastern Europe gaining the most ground

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September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society10 The Digital Divide The gap between the people who are on the Internet and the people who are not on the Internet. The digital divide is closing across educational levels and race, but it remains significant among low income households and individuals over the age of 65. The significance of the digital divide will become more prevalent as the Internet becomes a more prominent component of society.

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September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society12 How the Internet is Changing Education The four categories of online education: 1. K-12: 96% of U.S. schools are connected to the Internet The actual use of the Internet as a learning tool has been limited, mainly used for problem solving and various drills In K-12 the Internet has not yet become fully integrated into the learning system 2. Higher Education: In 1999, 72% of two-year and four-year colleges offered “distance-learning” courses

September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society13 How the Internet is Changing Education (cont’d) Most e-businesses estimate that higher education will provide a more profitable setting than K-12 because young adults will be more likely to try new approaches to educations than school systems 3. Corporate Learning: Corporate training has the largest potential market ($11.4 billion by 2003) Online training is seen as an inexpensive way to keep employees up-to-date on technology 4. Leisure Education: Usually life improvement classes that are not for credit

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September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society15 How the Government is Using the Internet E-government- defined as “federal, state, and local government applications that elicit payment or documentation submission over the Net.” The more government activities that can be conducted over the Internet the more financial and human resources that can be saved or utilized in other areas Problems with the government going online: Security- the government must be able to ensure the integrity of the information it is handling

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September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society17 How the Government is Using the Internet (cont’d) The government would need to recruit and hire more IT personnel to properly design and maintain full-scale Web sites There is no single department that is in charge of supervising the government’s online efforts (no uniformity)

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September 2001Chapter 17: Internet and Society19