53 Million in US Use IM

09/09/2004

Nearly one-half of all online adults in the US use instant messaging, and the number is continuing to grow.

According to new research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 42% of online adults in the US use instant messaging (IM), and — amazingly — 24% of those instant messagers say they use IM more frequently than e-mail.

This represents a sea-change in Internet usage habits, translating to 53 million people in the US who use instant message and over 12 million who IM even more than they send e-mail. And they use it a lot. On a typical day, 29% of instant messengers — approximately 15 million people — use IM.

The survey found that instant messaging is especially popular among younger adults. Exactly 62% of Generation Y Americans, ages 18 to 27, report using IM. Within the instant messaging Gen Y age group, 46% report using IM more frequently than e-mail.

"It comes as no surprise that instant messaging is especially popular among younger Americans because many more of their peers subscribe to IM programs," says Eulynn Shiu, a Research Associate at the Pew Internet Project. "Once one friend becomes available via instant messenger, usage among peers grows dramatically."

IM is used for more than chatting up friends, however. Of all instant messagers, 21% of them use it at the office. They find it encourages interoffice cooperation and increases work productivity. When asked who they contact most often during IM sessions at work, 40% of at-work IM users reported instant messaging coworkers, 33% reported friends and family, and 21% interact with both groups equally.

Younger Americans, in particular, have incorporated IM into their lives in multiple ways, using it to keep track of their friends, coordinate work meetings, and share files," says Amanda Lenhart, a co-author of the report. "IM use at home and in the workplace will grow as these creative and time-saving uses of the technology percolate through the generations."

No matter what generation they are, IM users are multi-taskers. When polled, 32% say they do something else on their computer such as browsing the Web or playing games virtually every time they are instant messaging and another 29% are doing something else some of the time they are using IM. In addition, 20% of IM users say they do something else off their computer such as talk on the phone or watch television virtually every time they are instant messaging, while another 30% say they do other things offline at least some of the time they are using IM.

Other findings from the report include:

24% of IM users say they have sent a message to a person who was in the same location as they were, such as their home, an office or a classroom.

66% of IM users say they regularly use IM between one and five people.

Only 9% of IM users say they regularly IM more than 10 people.

15% of IM users say they use a wireless device such as a phone or wireless laptop to send and receive IM messages.

17% of IM users use different screen names to contact different groups of friends or colleagues.

Source of Article: eMarketer

Date of Article: September 8, 2004