Religion Trumps Sex, Gambling Searches Online for Majority of Americans
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has released a new study that shows Americans are using the Internet for religious purposes more often than for gambling, banking or stock trading.
Three million Americans seek religious or spiritual information online every day, up from two million last year. Those most active in their congregations offline are also more religiously active online, augmenting their faith with online activities.
The Sept. 11 events spurred one of four Americans to search for information about Islam online, and 41 percent of U.S. Internet users said they sent or received e-mail requests for prayers. Seven percent said they donated to online charities.
Internet users were split on the effects of online religious information, with 62 percent believing it encouraged tolerance and 53 percent saying the Internet makes it easier for fringe groups to hurt people.
New Zealand Follow-Up Study Shows Problem Gambling Down
A follow-up study carried out by several research organizations in New Zealand, including the Auckland University of Technology and the National Research Bureau, re-examined some 143 problem gamblers identified in 1991 along with about 6,000 others and found that problem gambling seems to have declined since the original study was conducted.
Compared to the 1991 study, levels of problem gambling for certain groups such as young people and low-income families have dropped by about half. The findings are very controversial and need other studies to verify the results because it was impossible for researchers to determine if problem gambling would increase when new forms of gambling are introduced.
One of the study's findings--that people with severe gambling problems in the original study had gotten their problem under control while continuing to gamble--was a major upheaval to the traditional thinking that gambling addiction is a lifelong disorder and a return to normal gambling behavior was impossible.
Not all researchers agree with the study's outcome. Sean Sullivan, director of the Centre for Gambling Studies, disputed the findings.
"We argue the people who consented to be surveyed didn't have gambling problems," he said. "The ones who did have gambling problems would run a mile in case someone found out about it."
Internet Not Cut Out for Movie Viewing?
Jupiter Media Metrix polled Internet consumers about their willingness and desire to watch movies online, and the results were not encouraging for companies looking to make money from selling movies over the Internet.
Of those surveyed, 11 percent of consumers indicated interest in watching movies online via their home PC, with the main disadvantage being slow Internet connections.
Jupiter analyst Lydia Loizides said this statistic will probably change down the road, but for the time being, consumers "want something where they can sit and relax and enjoy" their videos.
Online Marketing Now Used by Half of Marketers
The United Kingdom is leading the switch from traditional marketing techniques to online marketing with 73 percent of U.K. marketers employing online marketing tools.
Overall, nearly half of all marketers are now using online marketing methods and an additional 25 percent of those not already using these tools plan to start doing so during the next 18 months, according to the study performed by Doubleclick. Spain will sport the biggest increase in online marketing, with 66 percent growth expected during the next year and a half.
The study also noted that since overall marketing budgets are maintaining a steady rate but online marketing is increasing, more companies are increasing their allocation of marketing funds to online marketing techniques over offline venues.
Americans Love to Shop on the Job
Nielsen/NetRatings research has found that in the United States, half of all online purchasing is done while the buyer is at work.
The United States has 104 million home Internet connections and 40 million workplace Internet connections, yet the ratio of home-to-work online purchasing is about 50-50, except during the Thanksgiving week, when 57 percent of online purchasing took place at home.
Connection rates are the most likely cause of the preference to shop while at work, since many people have a faster Internet connection at work than at home.