For students, market researchers and information junkies, the release of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007 is one of those 'gee whiz' events - millions of pieces of information just waiting for someone to discover, make sense of and use. Here are some tidbits from the Information and Communications chapter:
- Television is projected to be the dominant type of media used by consumers at least through 2009; however, less than half of the nearly 5 months of continuous viewing (3,518 hours in 2007) will be of broadcast TV.
- In terms of hours gained (or loss) of users: the winners are home video and video games, though their less than 100 hours/year of total use pales to most other media. Losers: newspapers and network TV.
- Consumer use of the internet is projected to grow about 7% over the next three years.
For people interested in 'digital divides' Table 1136 notes that 98.6% of all public libraries are connected to the internet and offer public access. The average number of workstations for public use is 10.4, and that figure increases to 27.2 in those areas where poverty rates exceed 40 percent. Whether the low number of workstations in rural areas (6.7) is a function of population density or need, or reflective of larger issues with access, is the type of question these data raise that make this resource a winner for inquiring minds.
The state-by-state run down on home internet access (2003 data) also has some eye-openers: West Virginia (47.6), Alabama (45.7), South Carolina (45.6), Arizona (42.4) and Mississippi (38.9) have some of the lowest percentages of homes with internet access. For the 'upstream marketers' interested in information and internet access issues, food for action.
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