More Californians Getting News Online—Digital Divide Most Pronounced With Latinos—Support for Local Government Provided Broadban

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) has released a massive survey today that shows just how important the internet has become to most Californians’ lives and has major implications as to how Californians are getting their information about their communities, news in general and political news, variable access to the internet by different demographic groups, and that there is strong support for local government provided broadband access.

The PPIC survey is based on the opinions of 2,253 California adults—a very large sample with a margin of error of just 2%--and runs to 40 pages. Much of what it contains confirms trends and changes that have been chronicled before—the young, the wealthier, and the urban tend to use the internet more—but there are lots of surprises and a lot of data that folks will be analyzing and talking about for some time.

Bear in mind in interpreting this data that it is of California adults—not registered voters, likely voters, or even those who are citizens. The PPIC painstakingly interviewed many Californians in their own language and has sought a large representative sample of those residing within our borders.

Here are just some of the main findings before we go into some specifics:

• Although the percentage of Californians using computers has not grown since 2000, the share who say they use the Internet has increased five points. Californians’ usage is also similar to that of adults nationwide.

• Californians value access to the web: Nearly all Internet users (92%) say it is at least somewhat important in everyday life, and even 56 percent of those who don’t go online agree.

• 72% of Californians have a personal computer in their home and 63% have an internet connection at home, with 55% saying they have broadband.

• 75% use a computer at home, work, or school and 70% access the web or send and receive emails.

• 55% use the internet to get news on current events, including 47% who use the net to get information about their community and 46% who use it to get new or information about politics. Compared to other activities (purchasing, getting medical information, visiting a government website, for information for work, or banking), this is the highest use of the internet.