Census: School-Age Children Have Computer Access Internet Use Pervasive.

A ratio of 9-in-10 school-age children (6-to-17 years old) had access to a computer in 2000, with 4-in-5 using a computer at school and 2-in-3 with one at home, according to a report released today by the Commerce
Department’s Census Bureau.

The report showed that 54 million households, or 51 percent, had one or more computers in the home in August 2000, up from 42 percent in December 1998.

“Since 1984, the country has experienced more than a five-fold increase in the proportion of households with computers,” said Census Bureau analyst Eric Newburger, author of Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States: August 2000. “In addition, Internet use is rapidly becoming synonymous with computer availability.”

In 2000, more than 4-in-5 households with computers had at least one member using the Internet at home (44 million households). When the Census Bureau first collected data on Internet use in 1997, fewer than half of the households with computers had someone who was able to go online.

The report measured the influence of the Internet on how people access and use information. Of the total U.S. population, about 1-in-3 adults used e-mail from home in 2000, and nearly 1-in-4 used the Internet to search for information about topics such as business, health or government services. Nearly 1-in-5 used the Internet to check on news, weather or sports. And 1-in-8 adults performed job-related tasks using a home Internet connection.

Other highlights:

– Nearly 9-in-10 family households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more had at least one computer and about 8-in-10 had at least one household member who used the Internet at home.

– Among family households with incomes below $25,000, nearly 3-in-10 had a computer and about 2-in-10 had Internet access.

– Two-thirds of households with a school-age child had a computer, and 53 percent had Internet access.

– E-mail is the most common Internet application at home, used by 88 percent of adults and 73 percent of children who are online.

– Single-person households were the least likely to have a computer (30 percent) or Internet access (24 percent). In households with two to four persons, 58 percent had a computer and 47 percent had Internet access.

– Households in the West were the most likely to have computers (57 percent) and Internet access (47 percent). Those in the South were the least likely to have computers (47 percent) and Internet connections (38 percent).

– Ninety-four million people used the Internet at home in 2000, up from 57 million in 1998.

– Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of all children 3-to-17 years old lived in a household with a computer in 2000, up from 55 percent in 1998. About 3-in-10 children used the Internet at home, compared with about 2-in-10 in 1998.

– Schools have “leveled the playing field” by giving computer access to children who do not have one at home. Computer use at school was more nearly equal across various income, race or ethnic groups than was access at home.

– About 77 percent of White non-Hispanic and 72 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander children lived in households with computers, while only 43 percent of African American children and 37 percent of Hispanic children did.

The report uses Current Population Survey (CPS) data obtained from about 50,000 U.S. households. The data should not be confused with results from Census 2000, which did not include questions on computer access and Internet use. Statistics from sample surveys, such as CPS, are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.