Presents findings from a survey conducted September 12-13, 2001. Looks at how the Internet played a useful supplemental role to TV and the telephone in the days following the September 11 terror attacks

Lee Rainie

English

IssueLab

     SEPTEMBER 15, 2001         How Americans Used the Internet  After the Terror Attack             Lee Rainie, Director  Pew Internet & American Life Project 1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW – Suite 710 Washington, D.C. 20036 202-296-0019 http://www.pewinternet.org/  2The Internet was not a primary resource for news or outreach for most Americans after the terror attacks, but it was a helpful supplement to TV and the telephone and many found it useful for expressing their sorrow and anger at the assault Americans, including Internet users, relied mostly on TV for their news and the phone primarily for their communication needs in the days following the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. But for many online Americans, the Internet played a useful supplemental role as a communications tool – through their use of email and instant messaging – and as a news source.  The general picture of many Internet users that emerges in the aftermath of the attack is that they were aggressively using all the means at their disposal to get information about the unfolding crisis and make contact with their networks of loved ones and friends. That meant they were anxious consumers of TV news and restless users of the telephone even more than they used online tools. In addition, many Internet users were highly active in their communities in responding to the attacks.  There were increases in some online activities in the wake of the tragedy, perhaps the most notable of which was the greater proportion of Internet users posting and reading comments from other Americans about their emotional response to the attacks and the ways America might retaliate. Some 81% of all Americans say they got most of their information from TV and there was no statistical difference between Internet users and nonusers in their reliance on TV news. About 11% of Americans say they got most of their information from radio and again there is no difference between the responses of Internet users and nonusers. Only 3% of Internet users say they got most of their information about the attacks and the aftermath from the Internet.  Americans are eager for contact and reassurance In the two days after the terror attack, three quarters of all Americans (74%) reached out to loved ones and friends by the phone or by the Internet. Some 82% of Internet users used the phone or email to make contact with people they care about in the first 48 hours after the attacks. On the day of the attack, 51% of American adults phoned family members and 40% phoned friends about the crisis. About a quarter of Americans (23%) tried to reach someone to try to find out if she or he was safe. Internet users were more likely than non-Internet users to be using the phone to reach out to potential victims.  On that same day, more than a seventh of Internet users (15%) sent email about the crisis to family members and 12% sent email to friends. More women did this than men. In addition, 6% of Internet users sent instant messages to someone on Tuesday, which is about the same level of use of instant messaging that takes place on any given day online.  There has been a large-scale outpouring by tens of millions of Americans who have personally responded to the crisis Even before Friday’s National Day of Mourning, many Americans had an instantaneous urge to respond personally to the crisis. In the two days after the attack, a third of all American adults (32%) hung a flag outside their homes. That amounts to approximately 60 million adults who flew the flag. A fifth of Americans (19%) attended a religious service and that amounts to about 35 million people. Some 16% of Americans, or about 30 million people gave a donation. More than a tenth of the public (11%) tried to give  3blood, which comes more than 18 million people. And a similar proportion (11%) went to a meeting to discuss the attacks. Of course, this does not include the extraordinary events that took place on Friday, which saw many millions of Americans attend memorial services, perform candlelight vigils, and mount other displays of patriotism.  Internet users were more likely than nonusers to display some kinds of emotional and civic engagement with their country. Online Americans were among the most fervent to attend meetings and attempt to donate blood.  Millions cancel their travel plans About 9% of Americans say that in the first two days after the terror attacks they cancelled some travel plans. That suggests more than 15 million have already changed significant parts of their schedules in the wake of the attacks.  There was much heavier use of news sites online in the days after the attack, but the overall size of the online population was slightly smaller than usual In the months we have followed the online population, we usually find that between 55% and 58% of Internet users are online on any given day. On this past Tuesday and Wednesday, 51% of Internet users were online. It is probably the case that many Internet users like other Americans decided to follow the events on television. At the same time, those using the Internet spent a bit more time online than is usual. Compared to an average day, a far greater number of Internet users than normal tried to go to online news sites. Overall, 36% of Internet users went online looking for news in the first two days after the attacks. On Tuesday alone, 29% of Internet users – or more than 30 million people – sought news online. That is one-third greater than the normal news-seeking population on a typical day online. (About 22% of Internet users get news online on a typical day.)  Still, it is important to stress that Internet users were just like everyone else in the population in their devotion to getting most of their news from television.    The virtual town square In the 48 hours after the crisis, 13% of Internet users “attended” virtual meetings or participated in virtual communities by reading or posting comments in chat rooms, online bulletin boards, or email listservs. That is substantially greater than normal. On a typical day only 4% of online Americans visit chat rooms. After the terror attacks, Internet users were doing everything online from grieving, to comforting each other, to having reasoned discussions about policy options, to having flame wars where emotions ran high and insults were exchanged. Online communities were an emotional, spiritual, cerebral, primal, and sorrowful place for Americans to sort out their feelings and hash out their views.   The Internet was a backup for some whose phones didn’t work well More than 70 million Internet users tried to make phone calls to family members and friends on the day of the attacks. More than a third of those Internet users who tried to place calls on Tuesday (35%) had trouble getting through to people they tried to contact by phone and a fifth of them turned to the Internet to make contact with loved ones and friends. That comes to between 4-5 million people who turned to the Internet because the phones weren't working well enough for them.   4Many Internet users had problems in the early hours trying to reach the Web sites they tried to access Some 29% of Internet users tried to get news of the crisis online on the day of the attacks – that constitutes about 30 million American adults. About 43% of them said they had problems getting to the sites they wanted to access. Of those who had trouble, 41% kept trying to get to the same site until they finally reached it; 38% went to other sites, 19% gave up their search. Many news sites recognized this problem quickly and redesigned their pages to strip out graphics, ads, and other features that would make their pages time-consuming to download.  A high proportion of Internet users were actively surfing to get all the information they could about the crisis; 58% of those seeking news online were going to multiple Web sites in their hunt for information.  Many Internet users were multitasking their way through the crisis A quarter of Internet users were multitasking on Tuesday by having the TV or radio on while they were surfing or sending email.  The final assessment: For some, the Internet was a help Some 30% of Internet users say the Internet helped them learn about what was going on in the first days after the attacks occurred and 29% say the Internet helped them connect with people they needed to reach.  More analysis from the Pew Research Center For The People & The Press This report is part of a larger effort done in coordination with the Pew Research Center For The People & The Press that will examine Americans’ attitudes about how news organizations have been covering the terror attacks. A report by the Pew Research Center about those attitudes and about the psychological impact on Americans of the massive coverage will be released next week.    The questionnaire  Since you first heard about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, where would you say you have gotten MOST of your information about this story?  From talking with others, listening to the radio, watching television, reading a newspaper, or going online over the Internet?     SEPT 2001  % 2 Talking with others  11 Radio  81 Television  1 Newspaper  2 Internet  1 Other  1 Don’t know/Refused   5Thinking again about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, have you (INSERT)?  (IF YES, And did you happen to do this on Tuesday – the day of the attacks?)   Items c, d, e, f, and g based on Internet users (N=663)  HAVE DONE THIS    TOTAL HAVE DONE THIS  DID THIS ON TUESDAYDID THIS OTHER DAY HAVE NOT DONE THIS DON’T KNOW/ REFUSEDa Called a family member to talk about the attacks       Sept 2001 60 51 10 40 * b Called a friend to talk about the attacks       Sept 2001 48 40 8 52 * c Gone online looking for news about the attacks       Sept 2001 36 29 8 64 0 d Gone online to send e-mail to family members because of the news       Sept 2001 19 15 4 81 0 e Gone online to send e-mail to friends because of the news       Sept 2001 16 12 4 84 0 f Posted or read comments about the attack on a web site bulletin board, in a chat room or on an e-mail list-serv       Sept 2001 13 8 5 87 0 g Used instant messaging to communicate with someone about the attacks       Sept 2001 9 6 2 91 0 h Called to try to find out whether someone you know was safe       Sept 2001 28 23 5 72 *   TER02/12 When you tried to make phone calls on Tuesday did you have any trouble placing the calls?  TER02a When you had trouble making the call, did you try to reach them through the Internet via email or instant messaging?    Based on those who tried to make phone call on Tuesday [N = 740]  SEPT 2001  % 32 Yes, had trouble         4        Tried to reach via e-mail/IM         28        No, not tried to reach  68 No, did not have trouble  * Don’t know/Refused  6  TER02b/12b How many phone calls would you say you made to family members and friends on Tuesday because of the attacks?    Based on those who tried to make phone call on Tuesday [N = 740]  SEPT 2001  % 31 1 or 2 calls  38 3 to 5  17 6 to 10  6 11 to 20  4 20 or more  4 Don’t know/Refused   TER03 When you went online Tuesday to get news and information about the attacks, were you trying to reach one particular site or did you try various Web sites?    Based on those who went to web site on Tuesday [N = 193]  SEPT 2001  % 37 One particular site  58 Various sites  4 Don’t know/Refused   TER04 When you went online Tuesday to get news and information about the attacks, did you have any problems accessing the web sites?  (IF YES) Would you say you had a lot of problems or just some problems?    Based on those who went to web site on Tuesday [N = 193]  SEPT 2001  % 15 Yes, a lot of problems  28 Yes, some problems  56 No, did not have problems  1 Don’t know/Refused   TER04a When you had problems accessing a web site, did you eventually get to the site you wanted, did you go to other sites, or did you just give up?    Based on those who had trouble with web site on Tuesday [N = 82]  SEPT 2001  % 41 Got to desired site  38 Went to other sites  19 Gave up  1 Don’t know/Refused    7TER05 How many emails would you say you sent to family members and friends on Tuesday because of the attacks?    Based on those who sent e-mail Tuesday about attacks [N = 127]  SEPT 2001  % 39 1 or 2 e-mails  34 3 to 5  11 6 to 10  5 11 to 20  4 20 or more  8 Don’t know/Refused   TER06 On Tuesday, were there times that you were watching television or listening to the radio and going online at the same time to try to get information related to the attacks?    Based on Internet users  [N = 663]  SEPT 2001  % 24 Yes  75 No  * Don’t know/Refused   TER07 Thinking about your use of the Internet in reaction to the attacks, how much would you say using the Internet… (INSERT) … a lot, some, a little, not at all?      Based on Internet users [N = 663]  a. Helped you learn more about what is going on  SEPT 2001  % 30 Helped         13       A lot         17       Some  69 Didn’t Help          15       A little          53       Not at all  2 Don’t know/Refused   b. Helped you connect with people you needed to reach  SEPT 2001  % 29 Helped         16       A lot         13       Some  69 Didn’t Help          12       A little          57       Not at all  2 Don’t know/Refused   8TER13 Thinking about other things that you personally have done in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, have you (INSERT)?  IF YES, Did you happen to learn about this online?     HAVE DONE THIS     TOTAL HAVE DONE THIS  HAVE DONE IT LEARNED ABOUT THIS ONLINE NO, HAVE NOT DONE THIS DON’T KNOW/ REFUSED a Attended a religious service       Sept 2001 19 18 1 80 * b Tried to donate blood       Sept 2001 11 11 1 88 1 c Attended a meeting to discuss the attacks and their aftermath       Sept 2001 11 10 1 89 *  d Flown an American flag outside your house       Sept 2001 32 31 1 68 * e Gave money to relief efforts1       Sept 2001 16 15 1 84 1   TER14 Also … after the terrorist attacks, did you happen to cancel or postpone travel plans?    SEPT 2001  % 9 Yes, have done this  91 No, did not do this  1 Don’t know/Refused    Methodology  This report is based on the findings of a daily tracking survey on Americans' use of the Internet. The results in this report are based on data from telephone interviews conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates between September 12, 2001 and September 13, 2001, among a sample of 1,226 adults, 18 and older.  Some 663 of them are Internet users. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 3 percentage points.  For results based Internet users, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.  In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting telephone surveys may introduce some error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.                                                   1 Item e based on those interviewed on 9/13/01 only (N=474).  9The sample for this survey is a random digit sample of telephone numbers selected from telephone exchanges in the continental United States. The random digit aspect of the sample is used to avoid “listing” bias and provides representation of both listed and unlisted numbers (including not-yet-listed numbers). The design of the sample achieves this representation by random generation of the last two digits of telephone numbers selected on the basis of their area code, telephone exchange, and bank number.  Non-response in telephone interviews produces some known biases in survey-derived estimates because participation tends to vary for different subgroups of the population, and these subgroups are likely to vary also on questions of substantive interest. In order to compensate for these known biases, the sample data are weighted in analysis. The demographic weighting parameters are derived from a special analysis of the most recently available Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (March 2000). This analysis produces population parameters for the demographic characteristics of adults age 18 or older, living in households that contain a telephone. These parameters are then compared with the sample characteristics to construct sample weights. The weights are derived using an iterative technique that simultaneously balances the distribution of all weighting parameters.  

How Americans Used the Internet After the Terror Attack

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How Americans Used the Internet After the Terror Attack

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