Online Searches Climb in Popularity

New numbers show that searching on the Web is quickly closing in on e-mail use as the number one more popular activity among surfers.

The buzz in recent tech news may be all about up-and-coming uses for the Internet like Web 2.0 applications, social networking, and cloud computing, but as it turns out, the real hot property is none other than simple search engines. A new study conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that use of search engines has spiked significantly in the last six years [PDF], due in part to broadband adoption.

According to Pew, 49 percent of Internet users now search on a daily basis, while only about 30 percent did back in 2002. E-mail remains the most popular activity on the Web, with 60 percent of users checking it daily, but it has grown more slowly in popularity than search.

Speed seems to be a major factor in determining how frequently people use search, since Pew found  a strong correlation between broadband subscriptions and search.  Age also seems to be a deterrent, with those aged 65 and older being significantly less likely to search.

Pew conducted it survey in the spring with a sample of 2,251 Internet-using adults.