STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (CBS.MW) -- A Pennsylvania State University researcher says the popularity of sex on the Internet may be over-rated.
Dr. Amanda Spink reviewed search requests of Excite.com and found 8.5 percent of queries last May were for sex-related or pornographic Web sites, down from 16.8 percent in May 1997. By comparison, searches involving commerce, travel and jobs rose from 13.3 percent for 24.7 during the same period, she said.
"The content of the Web has shifted toward commerce sites," she explained. "Also, the nature of people who search the Web has changed. In '97, you probably had a higher proportion of university people, of young guys who knew about computers. Now you have more the average person, and the average person may not be as interested in sex and pornography." She added that almost 10 percent of Web searches were in languages other than English.
Dr. Amanda Spink reviewed search requests of Excite.com and found 8.5 percent of queries last May were for sex-related or pornographic Web sites, down from 16.8 percent in May 1997. By comparison, searches involving commerce, travel and jobs rose from 13.3 percent for 24.7 during the same period, she said.
"The content of the Web has shifted toward commerce sites," she explained. "Also, the nature of people who search the Web has changed. In '97, you probably had a higher proportion of university people, of young guys who knew about computers. Now you have more the average person, and the average person may not be as interested in sex and pornography." She added that almost 10 percent of Web searches were in languages other than English.
posted by Spasssmeister at 8:47 AM
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