The Internet often serves as a substitute for television viewing, but not for more substantive activities. Users and non-users spend roughly equal amounts of time on reading books and newspapers, and talking on the phone. Surprisingly, even half of the non-users believe the same. A constant fear expressed by social critics is the deleterious affect of the Internet on children. The UCLA report ameliorates these fears.
Internet users have nearly the same number of friends as non-users.
Almost a third employ some sort of filtering software. While at work, more than half of employees access personal e-mail and visit Web sites for personal use. Still, more than half of employees say that the Internet makes them more productive at work, and heavy Internet users average 3.4 to 5.6 hours of overtime per week at home on the Internet. Typical online users purchase few goods on a monthly basis. Suspicion about personal privacy represents the biggest barrier to online shopping.