AOL Survey Shows American E-Mail Addiction

AOL today announced results of its E-mail Addiction Survey, which examined the behaviors and routines that have formed among Americans for whom e-mail is an essential part everyday life. The survey was conducted in partnership with Opinion Research Corporation, and surveyed over 4,000 e-mail users over 18 years old.

The survey asked them about e-mail habits, ranging from how often they check personal e-mail at work to whether or not they've ever checked e-mail while in church. The survey found that e-mail users rely on e-mail as much as the phone for communication, spend about an hour a day on e-mail, and that 77% of e-mail users have more than one e-mail account all pointing to the fact that e-mail has forever changed the way we communicate.

Note: see Opinion: You Just Might Be Addicted To E-Mail for a complete analysis.

Some indications that Americans are somewhat addicted to e-mail are that 41% check it first thing in the morning, and 14% check it just before retiring for the night. Some 40% have even checked their e-mail in the middle of the night.

More than a quarter of respondents say they have never gone more than two or three days without checking e-mail. Most are as likely to give out their e-mail address as their phone number, and it's not surprise that most people check personal e-mail at work.

According to the survey, the top ten markets that can't live without their e-mail are:

1. Miami-Ft
2. Lauderdale
3. San Francisco
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Houston
7. Washington, DC
8. Boston
9. Dallas-Ft
10. Worth
11. Chicago
12. Los Angeles

This index was based on several factors including: number of e-mail accounts; average times e-mail checked per day; average times personal e-mail checked at work; whether e-mail is checked on vacation for pleasure; average hours spent e-mailing per day; and percentage of those concerned they may be addicted to e-mail.

More results from the survey are available at www.aim.com.