by Playfuls Staff |
21st November 2006
Fully 40 million Americans use the internet as their
primary source of news and information about science and 87% of online users
have at one time used the internet to carry out research on a scientific topic
or concept. [more]
As a primary source for science information, the internet
is second only to television among the general population. For Americans with
high-speed internet connections at home, the internet is as popular as TV for
news and information about science. And for young adults with high-speed
connections at home, the internet is the most popular source for science news
and information by a 44% to 32% margin over television.
The national survey conducted by the Pew Internet &
American Life Project in collaboration with the Exploratorium
(www.exploratorium.edu) benchmarks how the internet fits into people’s habits
for gathering news and information about science.
According to study, nearly 9 in 10 (87%) online users have
used the internet to look up the meaning of a scientific concept, answer a
specific science question, learn more about a scientific breakthrough, help
complete a school assignment, check the accuracy of a scientific fact,
downloaded scientific data, or compare different or opposing scientific
theories.
Most Americans say they would turn to the internet if they
needed more information on specific scientific topics. Two-thirds of
respondents asked about stem cell research said they would first turn to the
internet and 59% asked about climate change said they would first go to the
internet. Most of those searches would begin with search engines.
Nearly three quarters (71%) of internet users say they
turn to the internet for science news and information because it is convenient.
“People’s use of the internet for science information has
a lot to do with the internet’s convenience as a research tool, but it also
connected to people’s growing dependence on the internet for information of all
types,” said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet &
American Life Project and the study’s principal author. “Many think of the
internet as a gigantic encyclopedia on all subjects and this certainly applies
to scientific information.”
Users of the internet for science information also report
better attitudes about the role science plays in society and higher assessments
of how well they understand science. Specifically:
78% of those who have gotten science information online
describe themselves as “very” or “somewhat” informed about new scientific
discoveries; 58% of remaining internet users says this.
48% strongly agree that to be a strong society, the United States
needs to be competitive in science; 33% of remaining online users strongly
agree with this.
43% strongly agree that scientific research is essential
to improving the quality of human lives; 27% of remaining online users say
this.
The report also showed that many Americans visit science
museums and websites whose main focus is on science. Three in five Americans
(59%) have been to some sort of science museum in the past year, such as a zoo
or aquarium, natural history museum, science or technology museum, or
planetarium. Half (49%) of internet users have gone to a website whose content
is devoted to science, such as the Smithsonian’s website or
NationalGeographic.com. The report also shows a relationship between the two
behaviors: those who have gone to a science museum are more likely to visit
science websites, and vice versa.
The Pew Internet Project/Exploratorium report, made
possible by the National Science Foundation, is based on a survey of 2,000
Americans conducted in January 2006. It has a margin of error of plus or minus
three percentage points.
