By: Michael P. Regan, AP Business Writer (AP) Use of the Internet in rural communities has increased, but still lags that of city dwellers and suburbanites, according to a new survey.
Fifty-two percent of rural residents in 2003 said they use the Internet, compared with 67% of urbanites and 66% of people in suburbs, according to a report this week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The nonprofit group conducted its latest surveys between March and August.
When Pew first conducted surveys on the topic in 2000, only 41% of people living in rural areas said they used the Internet, compared with 51% of urban residents and 55% of suburbanites.
Some of the gap may be explained by the fact that older people make up bigger shares of rural populations, and incomes and education levels are generally lower than in cities and suburbs, according to Pew.
Among the other findings:
* Rural users are less likely to do banking and shopping online, but more likely to look for religious and spiritual information.
* About 29% of Internet users in rural areas said their Internet service provider is the only one available to them, compared with 7% of urban users and 9% of suburban users.
* The number of rural users with broadband connections at home grew from 3% in 2000 to 19% in 2003. The number grew from 8% to 36% in cities, and from 7% to 32% in the suburbs.
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