Seventy-Eight Percent of Active Internet Users Hav

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Seventy-Eight Percent of Active Internet Users Hav
New York, NY, December 19, 2006--Nielsen//NetRatings has reported that 78 percent of active home Web users connected via broadband during the month of November, up 13 percentage points from 65 percent of active Web users a year ago. Broadband consumers are heavy Internet users compared to their narrowband counterparts. In November, with an average of 34 hours and 50 minutes per person, they spent 33 percent more time online than narrowband users, who had an average of 26 hours and 13 minutes per person. Among all time spent online during the month, 82 percent could be attributed to those connecting via broadband. In addition, broadband users viewed over twice as many Web pages as narrowband users, with averages of 1,574 and 681 Web pages per person, respectively. Web sites for online gaming, instant messaging, e-mail and social networking all made the top 10 list when ranked by average time per person among broadband users at home. The Web has become an integral part of everyday social life, particularly among kids and teens. Online gaming site Pogo.com led the pack among broadband users, with an average of four hours and 23 minutes per person in November. Another online gaming destination, Electronic Arts, ranked No. 2 with an average of 3 hours and 43 minutes per person. MSN Games and RuneScape also made the top 10, with average times reaching nearly two hours. AOL Instant Messenger ranked No. 3 according to time spent by home broadband users, with an average of three hours and 24 minutes per person. Yahoo! Mail and Google Gmail were also among the top 10, both with averages over one and half hours. Social networking favorite MySpace followed in fourth place, with a monthly average time spent of two hours and eight minutes per person. “What most of these Web sites have in common is that they engage the consumer for an extended period of time by offering a way to connect with others,” said Carolyn Creekmore, senior director of media analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings. “Online games provide an outlet for camaraderie and playfulness, while instant messaging, e-mail and social networking allow for more direct, albeit often equally creative, communication.”