Survey Says - America's opinions on Internet, McDonald's, other issues - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

In July, the Markle Foundation, a New York-based outfit with too much money and time on its hands, released an Internet survey that is sure to end all Internet surveys. During a year of polling, focus groups, and in-depth interviews, Markle asked Americans their opinions about the Internet, American society, and McDonald's. It turns out that the majority of Americans like the Internet because "it makes life easier." They think of the Internet not as a "shopping mall," as many cyber-critics have whined, but as a "library"--if not a giant adult bookstore.

The study garnered a flurry of news reports that focused on such important topics as the public's zest for more online rules and for taxes on e-commerce. Some of the study's more interesting findings--to what extent Americans feel "warm," i.e., favorably, and "cool" toward institutions such as the FBI, the United States Postal Service, and America Online--went unreported. Find the rest of the study online at www.markle.org.

How Americans Feel
Toward Institutions
                     Warm  Cool
America Online        41%   16%
McDonald's            69    15
U.S. Postal Service   69    15
FBI                   50    21
Microsoft             62    15
Source: Markle
Foundation, survey of
1,049 adults

COPYRIGHT 2001 Reason Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group