U.S. Government Websites: For Adults Only

Oh, the irony.

At the same time that Washington is buzzing with outrage about government officials who spent their work hours surfing the internet for porn, a Pew Research Center study has found that large numbers of adult American internet users are searching online for hardcore government information.

Some 40% of adult internet users have gone online for raw data about government spending and activities. This includes anyone who has done at least one of the following: look online to see how federal stimulus money is being spent (23% of internet users have done this); read or download the text of legislation (22%); visit a site such as data.gov that provides access to government data (16%); or look online to see who is contributing to the campaigns of their elected officials (14%).

The report also finds that 31% of online adults have used social tools such as blogs, social networking sites, and online video as well as email and text alerts to keep informed about government activities. Moreover, these new tools show particular appeal to groups that have historically lagged in their use of other online government offerings—in particular, minority Americans.

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“Just as social media and just-in-time applications have changed the way Americans get information about current events or health information, they are now changing how citizens interact with elected officials and government agencies,” said Smith. “People are not only getting involved with government in new and interesting ways, they are also using these tools to share their views with others and contribute to the broader debate around government policies.”

Here's my next project: putting a warning notice on my office's web page that says "Some Scenes May be Too Intense For Younger Viewers."