Internet popular with hobbyists

A telephone survey conducted earlier this year, as part of the Pew Internet and American Life Project research, found that a large percentage of Internet users look for information on their hobbies online.

by Helen Leggatt

Eighty-three percent of Americans surveyed for the recent Pew study said they went online to research their hobbies. Back in November, 2004, that figure stood at 77 percent. Nearly 30 percent make this a daily activity. In fact, sourcing information on a hobby is one of the most popular activities online and is on a par with reading online news, online shopping and online entertainment.

In the past two years, the number of hobbyists online has grown from 45 percent to 59 percent. Men under 50 and home broadband users are the most likely to pursue their hobby online. The numbers that make use of the Internet on a daily basis have almost doubled from 12 percent to 20 percent.

“The internet’s effect on hobbies can range from being an integral research tool for a genealogist...to being a connection and communication tool for collectors, to being the very source of a hobby’s existence, as in the case of online gaming,” said the report entitled "Hobbyists Online"(data memo). “Regardless of the internet’s role in the hobby, its impact is clear.”