" Web Usage Grows Across Globe,"

Mariano, Gwendolyn:
Web Usage Grows Across Globe,
CNET News.com, June 10, 2012.
Last Accessed June 11 2002 @ http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-934655.html
Internet usage is increasing worldwide, with more people logging on for greater lengths of time, according to a report released Monday by Nielsen/NetRatings.

"The number of people with Internet access at home grew 16 percent from April 2001 to April 2002, reaching 422.4 million home users in the 21 countries surveyed by the research firm. The number of people actively using the Web from home climbed 18 percent to 241.4 million in the same period, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

The audience measurement firm added that between April 2001 and April 2002, the time spent online per month rose nearly 13 percent and the number of sessions per month increased nearly 9 percent. Nearly a quarter of the Internet population surfs through a high-speed connection at home, Nielsen/NetRatings reported.

"The strong increases in time spent online and monthly Internet sessions go a step further to show that surfers are making more time to include the Internet in their daily media diet," Richard Goosey, international chief of measurement science at Net Ratings, said in a statement.

Nielsen/NetRatings' global Internet usage report was based on 21 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company said its tracking system is not established in other countries.

Nielsen/NetRatings added that the top global Web properties for April showed Yahoo in the lead spot, followed by MSN, AOL Time Warner, Microsoft and Lycos Network. This ranking has remained unchanged for the past three months."

 http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-934655.html

"Elderly escape loneliness by going online"

BBC Online Network: Elderly escape loneliness by going online http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1977000/1977823.stm May 13 2002: Going online has become the number one hobby for British pensioners, reports the BBC. According to a new survey conducted by BTopenworld, around 83 percent of seniors in the UK go online on a regular basis. The study indicates that pensioner’s mainly use the Internet to keep in touch with friends and family, and send an average of four emails a day. The Internet is particularly popular with older women, according to the survey findings. Nearly half of female seniors go online for the first time after they retire, and 35 percent of them say that the Net has offered them a wider circle of friends. According to the report, the Internet has also helped older people to feel more comfortable with modern society. Almost two-thirds of silver surfers in the UK said they felt more open to new experiences after having been online, while 42 percent felt they were more tolerant to the way the world was developing.