The World Wide Web is set to celebrate its 25th anniversary in just a few short weeks. The occasion provided Pew Research with a timely opportunity to gauge the impact of the rapid growth of the Internet since its inception.
Their recent survey found that nearly nine out of 10 American adults now use the Internet, a figure that is even higher among certain demographics. For example, 99 percent of those living in households earning $75,000 or more use the web while 97 percent of people ages 18-29 and those as well as those with college degrees also make use of the web.
In comparison, only 14 percent of those surveyed in 1995 had ever used the Internet, 42 percent had never heard of it and only 21 percent had a vauge idea of the concept.
The vast majority of people that use the Internet (90 percent) believe it's been a good thing for them personally while 76 percent of those polled say it's been a good thing for society. A full 15 percent said the Internet has had a negative impact on society.
Unsurprisingly, the Internet also ranks highest among technologies that would be very hard or impossible to give up. Other tech that falls into the same category is the cell phone, television and e-mail. I must admit that I was shocked to learn that only 10 percent of adults said it would be hard to give up social media considering how prolific its use is these days.