Email and search still the most popular activities on the web

(Lim Yong Hian/shutterstock.com)

Ninety-two percent of internet users in the US make use of search engines such as Google or Yahoo! to find information on the web.

Email is just as popular within the country. 92% of online adults reported using email to stay in contact with friends or for work in a study conducted by market research company Pew Internet.

Email and search engine use have remained the most popular activities for internet users since Pew Internet started measuring people’s online activities back in 2002.

“Even as early as 2002, more than eight in ten online adults were using search engines, and more than nine in ten online adults were emailing,” said Pew Internet in a report published on August 9.

“Perhaps the most significant change over that time is that both activities have become more habitual.  Today, roughly six in ten online adults engage in each of these activities on a typical day; in 2002, 49% of online adults used email each day, while just 29% used a search engine daily,” added Pew Internet.

While overall email and search engine use have remained fairly constant since 2002, social networking use has seen exponential growth from 11% in 2005 (when Pew Internet first started measuring the activity) to 65% in 2011.

A recent study by British consumer research specialist Intersperience found that the internet is as addictive as drinking and smoking. Users felt depressed and lonely after just 24 hours without the net.