Survey: 'Net An Important Information Source, Though Credibility Sketchy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 31, 2003 - 4:22am.

Los Angeles -- A survey of U.S. Internet users has found that while people are increasingly turning to the Internet as a source of news and entertainment, they are retaining a level of skepticism as to the validity of information they find online. The survey, conducted by the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, found that of the 71.1 percent of Americans who report using the Internet, 61 percent consider it a "very" or "extremely" important source of information, compared with 60 percent for books; 58 percent for newspapers; 50 percent for television; 40 percent for radio and 29 percent for magazines. However, only 52.8 percent of users said they found "most" or "all" of the information they found online to be "credible," down from 58 percent last year. The survey also found that Internet users average 11 hours per week online, up one hour from the previous year. 'Net users also average 11 hours of TV-watching per week -- down an hour from 2001 -- and an average of 5 hours less than those who don't use the Internet.
http://ccp.ucla.edu/pages/internet-report.asp
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2145318
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,57491,00.html