“The Internet: 70 Million Adults Online Each Day”

The Internet is arguably the greatest technological advancement of our time. It has changed the way in which simple tasks are performed, for instance, checking the weather report. Twice as many people in 2004 used the internet to keep up to date with current events online than in 2000, and the figures continue to rise. A study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project estimate 70 million adult Americans are online each day.

The sites that generate the highest revenue are dating websites, with entertainment sites including movie and music download sites coming in a close second. Entertainment sites are the fastest growing on the internet with an increase of 90 percent in revenue since 2004.

Gambling and pornography sites are also serving an increasing number of customers and produce a high but so far unrecorded level of internet traffic. The online gambling industry is expected to generate 24 billion dollars by 2010, and more than 2000 pornographic websites exist online.

Some indication of the popularity of these sites can be gleaned from figures recorded by Nielsen/NetRatings. In a study where surfing among internet users was monitored, 18 percent frequented gambling websites and 24 percent visited pornographic sites.