The findings suggest that the average Internet user has 1.5 computers at home. That compares with 52.6 million in mid-1997 and 83.6 million at the end of 1998. Men remain a slight majority, at 55 million users, compared with 51 million women. The average age of Net users hit 40 at the end of last year, having risen steadily from 38.6 years old in mid-1997. About 58 million Americans use the Internet at work, a decrease from 61 million in mid-1999.
Instant messaging continues to grow in popularity.
Nearly 1 billion messages are exchanged each day in real time. The number of Internet users making purchases online has nearly doubled in the past year, from 27 million to 52 million. Statistics are updated every six months with new participants. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.