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Study: Search now no. 2 among web tasks

November 22, 2005 |

The number of people who use Internet search engines to find information has jumped over the last year, claiming a solid No. 2 spot behind e-mail among online tasks, a new study finds.

The number of people who use Internet search engines to find information has jumped over the last year, claiming a solid No. 2 spot behind e-mail among online tasks, a new study finds.

Of the 94 million American adults who went online on a given autumn day this year, 63 percent used a search engine, compared with 56 percent in June 2004, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said Sunday.

Until recently, search and news have been running neck-and-neck for the No. 2 spot among Internet tasks, said Lee Rainie, the project’s director. But search had a dramatic jump over the past year to widen the gap over news, used by 46 percent of the Internet’s daily population.

Use of search engines was higher among users who are richer and better educated, as well as those with high-speed broadband connections that are continuously on.

‘‘If you’re cooking dinner and wondering what ingredients to put in your meal, if you had a dial-up connection you would probably go to your cookbook,’’ Rainie said. ‘‘If ... you have a broadband connection, you’d likely go to your bookmarks’’ for your favorite search engine.

E-mail remains the most popular application, used by 77 percent of the daily sampled population.

Get the full story at The New York Times

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