The Web 'hang-out': Study

Forget the mall. The Internet is becoming a favorite hangout and "destination" in its own right. "Some 30% of Internet users go online on any given day for no particular reason, just for fun or to pass the time," the Pew Internet & American Life Project reports in its latest survey. Which makes hanging out just for fun tied for third (with getting the news) in favorite online activities. First and second are email (52% of Net users do
this on a typical day, Pew says) and using a search engine (38%). Fun and news both got 31%. And the number of fun-seeking surfers is growing fast, from 25 million going online for that "purpose" any given day (as counted in November 2004) to the 40 million cited in Pew's research this past December. Pew gives two basic reasons for this growth: the growth of broadband connecting (making Web use more seamless, fast, and convenient) and the growing body of Web content and applications (multimedia blogging and social-networking might be a part of this, I'm thinking). Pew also found that leisure surfers are generally more experienced online, younger, and male (34% of men vs. 26% of women go online "on an average day with no particular purpose," Pew says). Here's USATODAY's coverage.