Most Popular Internet Activities

Here are percentages of internet users who do such activities online as sending email, playing games, downloading music, and more.

	Percent of Internet users who report this activity
Send or read email	92%
Use a search engine to find information	89
Search for a map or driving directions	86
Look for info on a hobby or interest	83
Research a product or service before buying	81
Check the weather	80
Look for health/medical info	75
Get travel info	73
Get news	73
Buy a product	71
Visit a local, state, or federal government website	66
Buy or make a reservation for travel	64
Surf the Web for fun	62
Go to a website that provides info or support for a specific medical condition or personal situation	58
Research for school or training	57
Watch a video clip or listen to an audio clip	56
Look for "how-to," "do-it-yourself," or repair information	55
Look online for news or information about politics or the upcoming campaigns	55
Look up phone number or address	54
Do any banking online	53
Watch a video on a video-sharing site like YouTube or GoogleVideo	52
Take a virtual tour of a location online	51
Do any type of research for your job	51
Look online for info about a job	47
Get sports scores and info online	45
Get info online about a college, university, or other school you or a family member might attend	45
Download other files such as games, videos, or pictures	42
Get financial info online, such as stock quotes or mortage interest rates	41
Send instant messages	40
Look for info about a place to live	39
Download computer programs from the Internet	39
Pay bills online	38
Download music files to your computer	37
Upload photos to a website so you can share them with others online	37
Look for information on Wikipedia	36
Send or receive text messages using a cell phone	35
Look for religious/spiritual info	35
Play online games	35
Listen to music online at a website	34
Read someone else's online journal, web log, or blog	33
Rate a product, service, or person using an online rating system	32
Use online classified ads or sites like Craig's list	32
Log on to the internet using a wireless device	30
Listen to a live or recorded radio broadcast online, such as a newscast, sporting event, or radio show	29
Categorize or tag online content like a photo, news story, or blog post	28
Search for info about someone you know or might meet	28
Pay to access or download digital content online	28
Share files from own computer with others	27
Download video files to your computer	27
Participate in an online auction	26
Research your family's history or genealogy online	25
Download screensavers from the Internet	23
Chat in a chat room or in an online discussion	22
Download computer games from the Internet	21
Create content for the Internet	19
Download a podcast so you can listen to it or view it at a later time	19
Make a donation to a charity online	18
View live images online of a remote location or person, using a webcam	17
Use an online social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, or Friendster	16
Sell something online	15
Visit an adult website	13
Take a class online just for personal enjoyment or enrichment	13
Participate in an online discussion, a listserv, or other online group that helps people with personal issues or health problems	12
Send or receive an invitation to a meeting or party using an online invitation service	12
Take a class online for credit toward a degree of some kind	12
Create or work on your own online journal or blog	12
Take material you find online—like songs, text, or images—and remix it into your own artistic creation	11
Buy or sell stocks, bonds, or mutual funds	11
Make a phone call online	8
Go to a dating website or other site where you can meet people online	6
Create an avatar or online representation of yourself	6
Download or share adult content online	4

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project tracking surveys (July 22, 2008).