Resumen
Studies have shown that for the generation of U.S.-based youth that grew up with the Internet, it is gradually displacing television as their main source of entertainment, communication, and education. This article explores how the Internet has become indispensable to people in their daily lives and develops a conceptual model allowing us to address the associated research questions. The idea is that the Internet has become so embedded in the daily fabric of people's lives that they simply cannot live without it. The number of adult Americans using the Internet increased 50% from 2000 to 2003, reaching 126 million users in 2003. Most of this increase is accounted for by individuals 30 years and older, although younger users are still the most wired. The increase is recorded among both men and women equally; African-Americans show the highest increase during this period, although they still lag behind Caucasians and Hispanics. Compared to the general population, college students are the heaviest Internet users.