November 3, 2005

After trailing the broader US population in overall Internet usage, African Americans are now gaining ground. A new study performed by eMarketer reveals that African-American Internet users contribute about 10.49 percent of the total US Internet population.

The report goes on to say there are 18.42 million African Americans online, almost as many as there are teenagers using the Internet in the US.

"African Americans are a strong potential market for broadband services and for education, career and informational content," says Debra Aho Williamson, Senior Analyst at eMarketer and author of the African Americans Online report.

"They will also be among the early adopters of the mobile Internet."

Internet usage among African Americans has risen steadily, from 34% of the adult population in 2000 to 57% in 2005, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

The National Urban League has also noted an uptick in usage, as cited in its 2005 edition of "The State of Black America." Last year, twice as many white households had Internet access as black households. This year, there has been an 18-point improvement in access among black households.

"But amid the good news, there is still frustration," says Ms. Williamson. "Just 50% to 60% of African American households have computers, versus 70% of white households. Though African Americans are increasingly using the Internet at work, home access is a strong driver of frequency of use."

Income and educational status are improving, but remain barriers to access.

A greater concern, however, is that the remaining lag in usage may also be self-imposed.

"The most worrying factor," says Ms. Williamson, "is that a large percentage of African Americans don't appear to be interested in going online, even if they have the money and education to do it."

"Some of the digital divide is self-imposed," Bruce Gordon, head of the NAACP, told Businessweek in October 2005. "A computer and a DSL line don't cost that much anymore. We need to convince more households to buy computers and go online."

Source: eMarketer