Internet use soaring for UW-Madison students

Students at UW–Madison are increasingly turning to the Internet as an information source and communications medium, according to a survey by UW–Madison’s Division of Information Technology.

Internet use by students jumped 40 percent to an average of 22 hours per week. The survey found that students are gaining access to the Internet in different ways. Fewer students are using telephone modems for access, while access via broadband options such as cable modem and DSL has become more frequent. General-access computer labs and computer kiosks also are proving popular as an on-ramp to the Internet.

Nearly 80 percent of UW–Madison students have more than one e-mail address, and 83 percent of all students check for e-mail at least twice a day. Sixty-two percent of the students, mostly freshmen and sophomores, report that they use instant messaging.

Computer ownership stands at 92 percent, a rate that is consistent for each class.

The survey found that 64 percent of students own a cell phone, up from 22 percent in 2000. Women were more likely to be cell-phone users than men, but more men owned handheld computing devices such as personal digital assistants.

DoIT conducted the 11th annual survey in February as part of an ongoing effort to assess student use of computing services, and to gauge demand for new and existing services.

The full report is online.