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Current and Future Uses of the Internet ABSTRACT This study examines the current and future uses of the Internet. The study proceeded by obtaining a sample group of eight volunteers drawn from the four class levels of a rural midwestern university. A group interview was then conducted with questions asked about the interviewees’ current and future uses of the Internet. These questions were developed using a uses and gratifications perspective. The transcripts of the study were then analyzed and coded into five general use categories. The contents of these five categories have provided an explanation of the sample’s current uses and possible future uses of the Internet. RATIONALE The emergence of the Internet as a widely adopted form of mass communication continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The increase in online access by all kinds of Americans highlights the fact that the Internet population looks more and more like the overall population of the United States (Pew Internet 2001). Between May of 2000 and December 2000, adults with access to the Internet increased from 88 million to 104 million (Pew Internet 2001). Not only are the numbers of those with access increasing, but also is the amount and type