I was trolling around online and I got to thinking about what it is I actually do here. I thought through the various uses daily and realized that I was generally trying to accomplish some sort of goal. Whether its getting the weather or becoming more informed on certain topics, for the most part, I go online with a goal in mind.

After my sudden realization, I went in search of evidence to see if this was common; did goals outweigh plain old time wasting? What I found was a simple but fantastic article that not only supports the fact, but breaks it down even further. Here is a paragraph from Sean Cartons article - What do People Do Online?

“And what did people in this study seem to be doing online when they weren’t doing email? Half of them were going online regularly to purchase products and services, and nearly 75 percent were going online to search for information about their hobbies, or about purchases they were planning to make. Sixty-four percent of respondents visited travel sites, and 62 percent visited weather-related sites. Over half did educational research, and 54 percent were hunting for information about health and medicine. A surprising 47 percent regularly visited government web sites, and 38 percent researched job opportunities. Instant messaging was used by 45 percent of these users, and a third of them played games online. And even with all the hype in the media, only 12 percent said they traded stocks online.”