Participatory Medicine:How user-generated media are changing Americans’ attitudes and actions, both online and offline

6.10.08Susannah Fox and Mary MaddenPew Internet & American Life Project

Presented to: NIH

June 10, 2008 2Participatory Medicine

Who we are…

June 10, 2008 3Participatory Medicine

Where we live…

June 10, 2008 4Participatory Medicine

Watching the online audience grow

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

•75% of adults in the U.S. use the internetup from 46% in 2000

• 93% of teens ages 12-17 use the internetup from 73% in 2000

June 10, 2008 5Participatory Medicine

Older adults still less likely to be online

37

72

85

92

65+

50-64

30-49

18-29

Online Not Online

October-December 2007

June 10, 2008 6Participatory Medicine

Education still matters, too…

October-December 2007

93

84

67

38

College Grad

Some College

HS Grad

Less than HS

Online Not Online

All Whites (76%)

All Blacks (56%)

English-Speaking Hispanics (79%)

75%* of the population reports using the internet or email. Here is a breakdown of use among different groups.(shown as a percentage of population online)

18-29 Years Old (92%)

30-49 Years Old (85%)

50-64 Years Old (72%)

65+ Years Old (37%)

No High School Degree (38%)

College Graduates

(93%)

<$30K Income (61%)

>$75K Income (93%)

Men (76%)Women (74%)

*Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org

** This statistic comes from the Pew Internet Project’s Latinos Online data, collected June-October, 2006.

High School Graduates (67%)

Urban (77%)

Rural (64%)

Suburban (77%)

Spanish-Dominant Hispanics (32%)**

June 10, 2008 8Participatory Medicine

Then and Now…

2000

5% with broadband at home

50% owned a cell phone

=slow and stationary connections

2008

55% with broadband at home

80% own a cell phone

=fast and mobile connections

June 10, 2008 9Participatory Medicine

Mobile access goes mainstream

62% of Americans have some experience with “on the go” access to digital data and

information

June 10, 2008 10Participatory Medicine

Does technology improve our lives?

Attitudes about information technology

How much, if at all, have communication and information devices improved …

“A lot” or “Somewhat”

Your ability to keep in touch with friends and family 81%

Your ability to learn new things79

Your ability to do your job59

The way you pursue your hobbies or interests55

Your ability to share your ideas and creations with others55

Your ability to work with others in your community or in groups you belong to 55

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project April 2006 Survey. N=3,355 for internet and cell phone users. Margin of error is ±2%.

June 10, 2008 11Participatory Medicine

What’s the big deal with Web 2.0?

June 10, 2008 12Participatory Medicine

How many of us are participating?

User-generated content creation activities:

% - Adult Internet Users

Share something online that you created yourself, such as your own artwork, photos, stories, or videos 19

Post comments to an online news group or website 18

Create or work on your own webpage 12

Create or work on webpages or blogs for others 11

Take material you find online – like songs, text, or images and

remix them into your own artistic creation

9

Create or work on your own online journal or blog 8

Those who have done at least one: 37

June 10, 2008 13Participatory Medicine

Content Creation: Age tells a different story

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Ages 12-17

Ages 18-29

Ages 30-38

Ages 39-48

Ages 49-60

Ages 61-69

Ages 70+

Per

cent

age

Internet users Total population

June 10, 2008 14Participatory Medicine

Youth of today, innovators of today

All Whites (76%)

All Blacks (56%)

English-Speaking Hispanics (79%)

75%* of the population reports using the internet or email. Here is a breakdown of use among different groups.(shown as a percentage of population online)

18-29 Years Old (92%)

30-49 Years Old (85%)

50-64 Years Old (72%)

65+ Years Old (37%)

No High School Degree (38%)

College Graduates

(93%)

<$30K Income (61%)

>$75K Income (93%)

Men (76%)Women (74%)

*Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December 2007. http://www.pewinternet.org

** This statistic comes from the Pew Internet Project’s Latinos Online data, collected June-October, 2006.

High School Graduates (67%)

Urban (77%)

Rural (64%)

Suburban (77%)

Spanish-Dominant Hispanics (32%)**

June 10, 2008 16Participatory Medicine

54%* of the population reports using a high-speed connection (e.g., DSL, cable, wireless) when accessing the internet from home. Here is a breakdown of use among different groups.(shown as a percentage of population using a high-speed connection from home)

Whites (55%)

Blacks (38%)

English-Speaking Hispanics (57%)

18-29 Years Old (74%)

30-49 Years Old (62%)

50-64 Years Old (49%)

65+ Years Old (20%)

No High School Degree (22%)

College Graduates (74%)

<$30K Income (40%)

>$75K Income (77%)

Men (58%)

Women (50%)

High School Graduates (43%)

Urban (60%)

Suburban (56%)

Rural (42%)

*Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December 2007.http://www.pewinternet.org

June 10, 2008 17Participatory Medicine

Whites (74%) Blacks (71%)

English-Speaking Hispanics (84%)

75%* of the population reports owning a cell phone. Here is a breakdown of use among different groups.(shown as a percentage of population owning a cell phone)

18-29 Years Old (88%)

30-49 Years Old (83%)

50-64 Years Old (70%)

65+ Years Old (50%)

No High School Degree (63%)

College Graduates (86%)

<$30K Income (61%)

>$75K Income (92%)

Men (77%)

Women (73%)

High School Graduates (67%)

Urban (79%)

Suburban (77%)

Rural (62%)

*Source: Pew Internet & American Life Survey, December 2007.http://www.pewinternet.org

June 10, 2008 18Participatory Medicine

Thank you!

Susannah Fox & Mary Madden

Pew Internet & American Life Project

1615 L Street NW

Suite 700

Washington, DC 20036

sfox@pewinternet.org

mmadden@pewinternet.org

202-419-4500