82% Internet Pentration and Rising

Roughly one fifth of all U.S. heads-of-household have never used email, according to Parks Associates. That's not even close to being the most significant implication, though. If the Parks survey data can be extrapolated to the whole population, and Parks Associates believes it can, then Internet subscriptions now reach 82 percent of U.S. consumers.

The most recent annual phone survey of U.S. households found 20 million households are without Internet access, approximately 18 percent of all U.S. households.

“Nearly one out of three household heads has never used a computer to create a document,” says John Barrett, director, research, Parks Associates.

The Parks Associates poll found seven percent of the 20 million “disconnected” homes plan to subscribe to an Internet service within the next 12 months. And "Internet resisters" continue to dwindle.

At year-end 2006, 29 percent of all U.S. households (31 million homes) did not have Internet access. So 11 million more homes have gone online over the past year, if the Parks data can be extrapolated.

One half of those who have never used email are older than 65, and 56 percent had no schooling beyond high school.