The Netizen - Special Report p.7

The Netizen : The Digital Citizen p.7 of 8

Just Say "Why Not?"
Do you strongly support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose legalizing marijuana if it is used strictly for medical reasons?

Bad Grades for Public Schools
How much confidence do you have in the public education system?

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See the full survey results
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The media myth

Connected Americans report that they still get the bulk of their news from newspapers and cable television instead of relying on the Internet. But they have little regard for either TV or print journalism. A measly 13 percent of Connected Americans say they have "a lot of confidence" in TV and newspapers, with a further breakdown showing that TV is trusted even less than newspapers. In substantial numbers, Connected Americans view conventional media as sometimes inaccurate and routinely too sensational. But in a challenge to the ubiquitous characterization of the Internet as an unfiltered blur of unreliable data, they trust the Internet more than any other medium - 22 percent say they have a lot of confidence in the information they find online.

If Connected Americans are suspicious of traditional media, that may be because mainstream media has consistently treated them as either dangerous sociopaths to be controlled or commercial targets to be exploited. The US is obsessed with the idea of being connected, but now we know a lot more about who the Connected really are:

Digital Citizens are young, but they are no longer youths. There are more Connected Americans in their 40s than in their 20s. Only 11 percent are over the age of 55.
The gender gap has largely closed. Connected Americans are 52 percent male and 48 percent female.
They are also 87 percent white, 5 percent black, and 4 percent Hispanic; 58 percent live in the suburbs, 28 percent live in cities, and 13 percent live in rural areas.
They are better educated than the population as a whole. More than half of Connected Americans are college graduates, as opposed to 16 percent of Unconnected Americans. Still, a startling 43 percent of the Connected never graduated from college.
The majority of Connected Americans earn between US$30,000 and $79,999 per year; 12 percent earn more than $80,000 a year. Among the Unconnected, only 8 percent earn more than $50,000. The Connected are comfortable, but solidly middle-class.
Connected people not only believe in the free-market system, they are part owners of it - 82 percent own stocks, bonds, or mutual funds.

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Discuss the survey with Jon Katz and other digital citizens, in Threads.
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