Americans who go online for economic information are also using the Internet to take their minds off of the recession, according to a new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Pew identified a group it calls “online economic users” which includes 69 percent of all American adults and 88 percent of all Internet users.
The report found that 74 percent of online economic users turn to the Internet to help get their minds off recent economic or financial problems. The most common activities were watching online video (54%), listening to music (50%), playing online games (37%), chatting with friends (33%), and creating or posting content online (22%).
The youngest online economic users (those ages 18-29) are significantly more likely than any other age groups to engage in a variety of online relaxation activities. The most popular activity was watching online video (74%), listening to music online (73%) and playing games online (52%).
Other highlights include:
- 46% of online economic users who go online as a diversion have also gone online to find or use online coupons.
- 26% have sold personal items on an online auction site.
- 15% have signed up online for automatic updates about economic or financial issues, and an additional 15% have tagged or categorized online content related to economic or financial issues.
- 13% have shared photos, videos or audio files about economic or financial issues.
