{"id":10526,"date":"2019-09-03T12:01:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T17:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/why-survey-estimates-of-the-number-of-americans-online-dont-always-agree\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T23:46:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T04:46:09","slug":"why-survey-estimates-of-the-number-of-americans-online-dont-always-agree","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2019\/09\/03\/why-survey-estimates-of-the-number-of-americans-online-dont-always-agree\/","title":{"rendered":"Why survey estimates of the number of Americans online don\u2019t always agree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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(wundervisuals via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How many U.S. adults use the internet? This might seem like a straightforward question, with a straightforward way to find out: Just ask. Indeed, there is a lot of information available from large, high response rate federal surveys as well as from surveys conducted by Pew Research Center and other organizations. However, these different sources of information measure internet use in ways that can be tricky to reconcile. Depending on the source, the estimated share of Americans who were online as of 2017 and 2018 is as low as 79% or as high as 89%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center has been tracking Americans\u2019 internet behavior for years<\/a>, all the while focusing on personal use from any location. While our approach has evolved over time, the current measurement consists of two questions: \u201cDo you use the internet or email, at least occasionally?\u201d and \u201cDo you access the internet on a cellphone, tablet or other mobile handheld device, at least occasionally?\u201d In a January 2018 phone survey<\/a>, 89% of U.S. adults said \u201cyes\u201d to at least one of these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Estimates<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Internet use is also tracked by the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s American Community Survey<\/a> (ACS) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics\u2019 Current Population Survey (CPS) Computer and Internet Use Supplement<\/a>, whose survey questions differ somewhat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"How<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The ACS asks, \u201cAt this house, apartment, or mobile home \u2013 do you or any member of this household have access to the internet?\u201d The ACS asks respondents to distinguish between households that have access by paying a cellphone company or internet service provider and those that have access without paying. If one assumes that a household reporting having internet access means that every member of that household has access (which isn\u2019t always the case), then in 2017, 88% of American adults had either free or paid internet access at home. This number, however, does not include people who live in group quarters who may otherwise have internet access, such as dormitories, nursing homes or prisons, as they were simply not asked this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bureau of Labor Statistics\u2019 CPS data takes a slightly different tack, focusing on internet use<\/em> rather than access<\/em>. That survey asks, \u201cDoes anyone in this household, including you, use the internet at home?\u201d Based on this question alone, 81% of American adults live in households where someone uses the internet at home. The difference between the two figures can be at least partly attributed to the questions\u2019 wording and scope<\/a>. The CPS, for example, does ask people living in group quarters this question. And households can have internet access<\/em> without anyone actually using<\/em> it \u2013 for example, if it is provided for free by their community or included in a bundle with other services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another difference is that some people may interpret \u201cusing the internet at home\u201d as only encompassing broadband, satellite internet, dial-up and the like, while the ACS\u2019s response options clarify that mobile devices count. The CPS separately asks, \u201cDoes anyone in this household access the internet using a data plan for a cellphone, smartphone, tablet, mobile hotspot, or other device? This type of internet service is provided by a wireless carrier, and may be part of a package that also includes voice calls from a cellphone or smartphone.\u201d If we include Americans who say yes to this question, the previous 81% figure rises to 83%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of that only answers a piece of the original question, because these questions only consider internet in people\u2019s homes<\/em>. The CPS also asks a battery of questions about whether anyone in the household uses the internet at work; at school; at a coffee shop or other business that offers internet access; while traveling between places; at a library, community center, park or other public place; at someone else\u2019s home; or at some other location. (Each location is asked about separately.) If we once again expand the previous CPS estimate to include people who may not use the internet at home but do so somewhere else, the estimate ticks up to 85%.<\/p>\n\n\n