{"id":96470,"date":"2007-06-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2007\/06\/21\/the-internet-circa-1998\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:17:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:17:55","slug":"the-internet-circa-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2007\/06\/21\/the-internet-circa-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"The Internet Circa 1998"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A reporter&#8217;s inquiry about what the internet was like in the late 1990s sent me to the Pew Research Center <a href=\"http:\/\/pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/reports\/display.php3?ReportID=72\">archives<\/a> for what turned out to be an amusing look back at some internet history. Here is what I found:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1996: 23% of adults went online.<\/li>\n<li>1997: 36% of adults went online.<\/li>\n<li>1998: 41% of adults went online.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1998, 57% of non-internet users said they worry &#8220;not at all&#8221; about missing out on something by not going online. 22% of non-users said they worry &#8220;not very much,&#8221; 10% worry &#8220;a fair amount,&#8221; and 7% worry &#8220;a great deal&#8221; about missing out on something by not going online.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those who did have access, trying to find something online was the top frustration, followed by slow connection speeds.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back then, there was <a href=\"http:\/\/query.nytimes.com\/gst\/fullpage.html?res=9A04E5DB163FF933A0575BC0A96E958260\">hype<\/a> in the mainstream press in the 1990s about the personal isolation of internet users despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary that internet users are just as likely to have a wide circle of friends and to get together with friends &amp; family on a regular basis. That &#8220;geek in the basement&#8221; stereotype persisted even as the internet became mainstream, but I think it was finally put to rest by my colleagues\u2019 report, <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/Reports\/2006\/The-Strength-of-Internet-Ties.aspx\">The Strength of Internet Ties<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019d like to flip through the embarrassing middle-school yearbook of internet history, check out these links:<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/web\/web.php\">The Wayback Machine<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yahoo <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/19970109130853\/http:\/\/www9.yahoo.com\/\">home page<\/a> in 1997<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AOL <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/19970421165310\/http:\/\/www.aol.com\/\">home page<\/a> in 1997<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The New York Times <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/19970303103041\/http:\/\/www1.nytimes.com\/\">home page<\/a> in 1997<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yes, our own class photo complete with <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1990s_in_fashion\">stonewashed jeans<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%22Rachel%22_haircut\">shag hairstyles<\/a>: The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press <a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/19970414071041\/https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/\">home page<\/a> in 1997<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1998, 57% of non-internet users said they worry &#8220;not at all&#8221; about missing out on something by not going 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