Study: Spam Is Making Consumers Log Off
By Antone Gonsalves,
TechWeb News

The spam that's clogging e-mail boxes with sleazy marketing messages for sexual-performance drugs, porn, debt reduction and weight loss is undermining consumers' trust in e-mail and is making their online experience less enjoyable, a research firm said Thursday.

A survey of consumers by the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project found 52 percent trusted e-mail less because of spam, and 60 percent had reduced their e-mail use in a big way to avoid the annoying, and often offensive, mass mailings.

In addition, 70 percent of the respondents said spam had made being online unpleasant and annoying, partly because they were offended by spammers' attempts to deceive people, Deborah Fallows, senior research fellow for Pew, said. E-mail that appeared innocuous from the subject line, for example, can contain pornographic pictures unsuitable for children.

People surveyed were losing trust in the reliability of e-mail, because they were no longer sure that their messages would make it through spam filters used by individuals and most businesses, Fallows said.

Respondents reacted strongest toward pornography sent by spammers, with more women saying they were offended by the content than men, 83 percent to 68 percent, respectively.

Whenever we asked questions about pornography, obscene content or offensive material, they really blew up with an extreme reaction, Fallows said. The same reaction (toward pornography) showed up in every measure we took.

An overwhelming number -- 86 percent -- of e-mail users surveyed said the most popular way of dealing with spam was to immediately delete the messages. A total of 73 percent of respondents avoided giving out their e-mail addresses and 69 percent avoided posting it on the web, in an attempt to not end up on a spammers' lists.

The survey also showed why spam could be lucrative. A significant minority, 7 percent, of e-mail users said they had ordered a product or service that was offered in an unsolicited e-mail, and 33 percent had clicked on a link to get more information.

E-mail users were confused as to whether clicking a remove me button in spam would stop future mailings, or just confirm their existence for a permanent place on a spammer's list.

People also were confused about the definition of spam. While 92 percent agreed that it was unsolicited commercial e-mail from a sender they do not know or cannot identify, messages with religious, political or charity-fundraising content was considered spam by some and OK by others. Respondents also had varying answers about how businesses should use email in communicating with potential customers.

Adults between the ages of 18 and 29 were more tolerant of spam than older people, with 32 percent of younger adults saying spam wasn't that big a deal, compared to only 18 percent of older adults.

While not advocating legislation or any other solution to reduce spam, Fallows acknowledged that doing nothing could eventually keep people away from the Internet, which would affect online retailers and other businesses.

Market research firm Gartner Inc. predicts that spam will account for 60 percent of e-mail traffic on the Internet by mid-2004.

If people are discouraged with using their e-mail, then they could get discouraged with doing other things on the Internet, Fallows said.

The analyst, however, believes Congress, technologists, businesses and consumers will eventually work together in finding a solution to spam, because of the damage done to everyone.

I'm an optimist who believes things will get better in the long run, Fallows said.

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