Lower Income Households Fastest Growing Online 28/08/00 A new report from Media Metrix reveals that the digital divide in the USA is closing and that Web usage patterns vary dramatically by household income. The study reveals that: While the number of Internet users with annual household incomes under US$25,000 have grown nearly 50%, outpacing the growth of total users, they still only represent 9.7% of the overall Internet using population. Lower income Web users, new to the Internet, tend to be less experienced surfers and spend more time online - about 13 hours per month - viewing more unique pages of content (over 700 pages in June 2000). Higher income users, on the other hand, tend to be more experienced surfers, spending less time - just over nine hours - and viewing less content (about 550 pages per month). Household income also appears to influence Internet category preferences with lower income groups visiting career and auction sites, while higher income audiences flock to hobby/leisure, automotive, sports and travel sites. According to Anne Rickert, analyst at Media Metrix, "A recent combination of declines in computer prices and increased Web access in academic and business environments has made the Web more readily available to people, regardless of their household income. Because Internet users with higher household incomes were among the earliest adopters of the net, they are more likely to have already established their online preferences, thereby streamlining their sessions. Because many lower income users are new to the Internet, and therefore less experienced, they are likely to spend more time and view more content online as they get acquainted with the medium." Interestingly, the top-ranked sites for each household income break appear to reflect users' purchasing power and financial security.