Most Americans pay for some online content, survey finds
Not all Internet users expect to get something for nothing — at least not all the time, according to a report released Thursday by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
Of the 755 users surveyed, 65% said they had paid to download or access some type of online content, with music and software being the most frequently purchased items.
A third of respondents said they had paid for digital music, and, separately, for software. Other frequently purchased items included apps for cellphones and tablet computers (21%); digital games (19%); news articles (18%) and videos, movies or TV shows(16%).
Only 2% of users admitted paying for adult content.
However, the typical user wasn’t breaking the bank: most spent about $10 a month, the survey found, although some high-end users pulled the average up to $47.
Users ages 30 to 49 were most likely to purchase most types of content (with the exception of games), as were users with a college degree and those in higher income brackets.
