Americans Online

Some 25% of parents say their children spend too much time online, with 13% saying their children spend less time with friends because of those online activities. Most parents (63%) aren't comfortable with their children spending time in an online community, with 53% thinking online predators are a threat.

The chart below highlights online activities of American adults.

Attitudes of Gays Vary by Ethnicity and Race

The following chart details several surprising differences between gays and lesbians from Hispanic, Black and White ethnic groups.

Mobile Internet Users

The US is ahead of other countries in usage of the Internet on mobile devices. Some 15.6% of US wireless subscribers go online from their mobile phones and other devices. The UK follows at 12.9%, and Italy at 11.9%.

The US mobile internet audience is almost evenly split between those age 35+ (48%) and those under the age of 35 (52%). Additionally, there are roughly as many teens using the mobile Internet as there are persons age 55+ (5.1 million persons age 13-17 and 4.4 million persons 55+).

Americans' Changing Driving Habits

With gas prices high, 68% of consumers are attempting several ways to cut back on their driving. One-quarter (26%) are shopping at retailers they don't typically frequent including discounters and value stores. The chart below shows other changes in driving behavior.

Consumer Attitudes Changed Over Past 10 Years

According to research by Vertis Inc., there have been some interesting developments in consumer attitudes and behaviors over the last 10 years. The chart below shows several of those changes.

Crossover Newspaper Readers

Of the people who read newspapers, 81% are crossover users - meaning they read both the print and online editions. Crossover readers' top reasons for going to the newspapers' websites are to get breaking news (92%), to find articles they've seen before (85%), and to find things to do and places to go (72%).

More than one-half of crossover readers (52%) continue to spend the same amount of time with print and online newspapers, and 35% have increased their time spent.

In comparison, web-only newspaper readers say they visit the sites to access local news (84%), get entertainment information (74%) and to find food or restaurant information (54%). Of these web-only readers, 52% read or write blogs and 46% have joined a web community.

Language Preferences for Chinese Americans Online

The majority of online Chinese Americans (89%) are from mainland China, while 8% are from Taiwan and 1% each are from Hong Kong, the US and Singapore. Some 94% speak Mandarin Chinese, 74% speak English and 13% speak Cantonese. Language preferences when using the Internet are 90% want Chinese and 88% prefer English. For print, it is 34% and 33%, respectively. For television, 21% prefer Chinese language and 50% prefer English. Some 8% prefer Chinese when listening to the radio and 15% prefer English.

Americans Dissatisfied with Journalism

Most Americans (72%) say they are dissatisfied with the quality of US journalism. Those who consider themselves conservative (88%) are more likely than liberals (51%) to be dissatisfied. Some 65% think that traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news. Seventy-two percent say that journalism is important to their community. The chart below shows which news sources Americans find most important.

Watching Television Programs Online

One in five Americans (19%) watches TV programming online, up from 10% in 2006. Websites most visited to access TV programs are the TV channel's official Web page (65%) and YouTube (41%). Most use streaming video (68%) and 34% download the video content.

Some 90% watch programs online from home, with 15% doing so from work and 6% from other locations. Women (55%) make up the larger proportion of online viewers than men (45%). In comparison, men (51%) account for a slightly larger proportion of those who watch live TV than women (49%).

Adolescent Eating Habits

While adolescent obesity may have leveled off, adolescents' eating habits are still of concern to many health professionals. The chart below shows current habits being studied.

Family Healthcare Deductibles Rise

According to a recent study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, American workers are paying higher healthcare costs as more employers demand larger out-of-pocket payments from employees before their insurance begins paying for expenses. Annual deductibles (the amount employees pay directly for medical care before their insurance coverage starts) jumped an average of 29% in the last year to $1,344, for those with family coverage.

Some 18% of insured employees pay $1,000 or more before their coverage starts, up from 12% in 2007. In small businesses with three to 199 workers, 35% of covered workers have to pay at least $1,000 out of pocket. The study shows that this is "partly, but not entirely" driven by the growth in consumer-directed plans such as those that qualify for a tax-preferred Health Savings Account. The Foundation's conclusions from the study include predictions that the growth in high deductibles means coverage will become "less comprehensive and skimpier" for workers.

HR Professionals Concerned About Healthcare Costs

Almost three-quarters of human resources professionals (74%) say that finding talent is among their top five concerns for the year, and 71% cite containing healthcare costs for their employees. Most (58%) are also concerned about employees' willingness to pay for increasing portion of the benefits coverage and to manage their own compensation budgets.

Some 42% of human resources workers say their top concern, as employees, is being able to afford their own retirement, including post-retirement healthcare.

Ten Great Business-to-Business Websites

Each year, BtoB Magazine selects 10 business-to-business websites that are good examples of effective use of the Internet. The sites chosen do an exceptionally good job of allowing visitors to find product and company information quickly and easily, providing a brand experience which flows with other marketing channels and offering a way to take the relationship to the next level.

Bullets

• Only 38% of Americans say they read a book for pleasure during the prior day.
• The cost of a night out for a family of four grew 4.5% to $212.84 in 2007, up from $203.17 in 2006. In 1998, the cost was only $127.05. The figures include the cost of tickets (movie, family show, music concerts and live theatre), refreshments and merchandise. They exclude parking and convenience fee surcharges.
• Two-thirds of Americans (66%) say they trust judges, 63% trust civil servants and 57% trust workers at charitable organizations to do their jobs honestly.
• Some 60% of Americans say that proven use of steroids during an athlete's career should bar them from being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• Households with at least one mobile phone with a built-in camera reached 42 million in 2007, up 193% from 2005. More than 33 million households had a digital music player, up 203% from 2005.
• One in every 99 American adults is serving time in prison or jail. Almost 7% of states' general fund budgets were spent on corrections during 2007.
• The number of Americans with a tattoo dropped slightly to 14% in 2007 from 16% in 2003.
• The dream day that women most commonly describe is shopping with no spending limit (31%). Men want a private plane and pilot to take them anywhere in the world (22%).
• Baby Boomers with annual household incomes below $50,000 (57%) are more likely to be green (i.e., purchase environmentally conscious brands), followed by those with incomes of $50,000-100,000 (53%); $100,000-150,000 (52%); and greater than $150,000 (50%).
• The number of overseas visitors to the US rose 10% in 2007 to reach 23.9 million. This is two million less than the number who traveled to the US in 2000. If the September 11, 2001 tragedy had not happened, the projected number of visitors would likely have reached 33.3 million in 2007.
• More than one-half of Millennials, aged 14-31, (52%) consider mobile devices as forms of entertainment, compared to 35% of Baby Boomers, aged 44-62.
• One-half of working moms (50%) and 35% of working dads wish they could become a stay-at-home parent.
• Drivers of hybrid cars are 75% more likely than the average person to be highly creative and liberal minded.
• Almost two-thirds (65%) of consumers think that fewer than one-half of companies involved in the green movement are authentically involved and concerned about the environment.
• The number of eighth graders who have smoked in the past 30 days has declined to 7%, down from 21% at its peak in 1996. Additionally, the number of tenth (and twelfth) grade smokers also declined to 14% (22%), down from 30% (34%) in 1996. The majority of teens prefer to date non-smokers and think that being a smoker shows poor judgment.
• Spending on local cable advertising is projected to reach $5.7 billion by 2011, reflecting a growth of 6.8% compounded annually.
• Most adults who watch online videos (78.4%) think those videos are intrusive. One-half of all online video users (49.7%) are less likely to view other video content they find online after they've run across an ad in a video they were viewing.
• Wealthy consumers (with household income of $150,000 or more) most commonly name Nordstrom as the retailer with the best customer service.
• Some 44% of people who read digital editions of magazines say that digital ads are more appealing than print ads; 37% are more likely to interact with digital ads.
• More than one-third of marketers (36.6%) say that advertising in social media is most valuable for gaining consumer insights, and 21.1% mention building brand awareness. None think its greatest impact will be raising purchase intent.
• Americans listened to 4.9 billion hours of Internet radio in 2007, up 26.1% from 2006. The top 10 online radio sites account for 90% of listening hours. Some 96% of online radio is free; 4% pay a subscription. Businesses spent $80 million on audio ads run on online radio sites in 2007, up from $27 million the prior year. They also spent another $12 million on video ads.
• The printed Yellow Pages directories are expected to lose 39% of their annual revenue over the next five years.
• The use of ad networks (a company that connects web sites that want to host advertisements with advertisers who want to run advertisements) jumped from 5% of total ad impressions in 2006 to 30% in 2007. Revenue only grew about 50% during this same period.
• Almost two-thirds of Baby Boomers (64%) say they feel an average of 11 years younger than their actual age. Some 48% say they are more adventurous and willing to experiment than they were in their 20s.
• The US spends 50% more per person on healthcare than any European country. US spending is $6,037, while the highest-spending European country (Switzerland) spends $4,045.
• Three-quarters of American households (75%) buy food from a restaurant at least once per week, and spend an average of $56.29 per week on eating out.
• The number of people admitted to hospitals with heart trouble increases 266% on days when a major sporting event is held. The rate for men increases 326%; for those with coronary conditions, it increases 403%.
• Women (18%) are more likely than men (12%) to report they felt nervous some of the time during the previous month. They are also more likely than men to say they felt restless (18% vs. 15%).
• A third of American adult workers (34%) say their employer allows naps at work, with 16% of employers providing a place for napping. An additional 26% of workers would nap if their employers allowed it.
• American's top three environmental concerns are pollution of drinking water (53%), pollution of soil and ground water (50%) and pollution of lakes and rivers (50%).
• One in four girls aged 14-29 (26%) has a sexually transmitted disease. Human papillomavirus is the most common (18%).
• Some 2.2% of high school seniors have used steroids, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Three quarters of workers (77%) say they would hire their boss if they were in charge.
• Executives considering a job change, most commonly talk to their spouse or significant other first (46%), up from 42% six years earlier. Almost as many go to their mentor (41%), up from 28% in 2002. Executives are now less likely to talk with coworkers and friends (4% and 3%, respectively) than they were in 2002 (13% and 11%, respectively).
• Some 36% of business travelers would like to have wifi access on flights, but only 8% of these would be willing to pay for it or take a less convenient flight to get it.
• Workers prefer to have a paid vacation day on their birthday (46%) than on other holidays such as Veteran's Day (14%) and President's Day (10%).
• Just over four in 10 workers (43%) say they can do as well or better at their boss's job than their boss does.
• The 30 fastest-growing professions in the US don't pay much, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. One-half (50%) pay less than $40,000 on average; only 10% pay more than $80,000. One third of these professions are in medical fields (physical therapists, pharmacy assistants, etc.); 17% are computer-related; and 17% are related to mental health and social work.
• Almost three-quarters of American workers (73%) think their company has good ethics. Some 56% report witnessing conduct that violated their company's ethics policy or the law, up from 46% in 2003. The most common violations they saw were conflicts of interest (23%), acting in an abusive or intimidating manner (21%), or lying to employees (20%).
• Eight in 10 executives (79%) prefer to wear casual clothes to work, with 62% saying it is the standard dress code in the office.