海角大神

The sharing聽economy 鈥� Uber,聽Airbnb,聽Craigslist 鈥� isn't just a fad, the聽first major survey聽on聽the聽subject聽found.听听

According to the Pew study released Thursday, 72 percent of Americans have used聽.听听

But, data about the types of Americans聽who use them聽most (younger, more聽urban, and more well-off) as well as their different motivations (it's trendy, less expensive, or a spurn of聽capitalism) indicate the country聽hasn't聽transitioned from聽owning to聽sharing聽just yet.听听聽

"There is a real spectrum of American usage and familiarity with new digital economy platforms," Aaron Smith, the study's author, tells 海角大神 in a phone interview. "Some people have incorporated a lot of these services into their lives in very meaningful ways. [But] a lot of Americans exist on the fringes of a lot of these services in maybe small numbers. In a聽quarter of Americans, none of the services we asked about they used聽or聽even knew聽existed聽to a meaningful degree."聽聽

The poll 鈥� the first major study聽of the scope and impact of the shared聽and on-demand聽economy 鈥� surveyed聽ride-hailing apps,聽home-sharing services, and crowdfunding, as well as聽other online and unorthodox聽services. Of the聽72 percent of Americans who聽have used at least one of these services, half聽have purchased used or second-hand goods聽from websites such as eBay or Craigslist. Many fewer,聽15 percent,聽have used ride-hailing such as Uber or Lyft, while聽11 percent have used home-sharing services such as Airbnb.听听

鈥淯sage is most prominent among the types of people who are already highly connected,鈥澛燬mith told The Guardian. Those digitally savvy聽adults聽Smith spoke of are聽under 49 years old, live in a city聽or the suburbs, and earn more聽than $75,000 a year. The demographic that has used聽Uber or Lyft is even聽younger, under 30 to be exact.聽

The survey聽explored聽why Americans choose these services.聽Ride-hailing users聽said it is less expensive and less stressful. Home-sharing users said it is聽easier for group聽travel聽too. Juliet聽Schor,聽a聽Boston College sociology professor聽and one of the聽foremost聽academics聽on the聽shared economy,聽聽in an聽essay聽on聽the聽Great Transition Initiative, an online journal. 聽聽

Professor Schor's聽conclusion is that the motivations vary.聽For some, it's trendy, she writes.聽For others, it's merely less expensive. Especially with person-to-person websites,聽the absence of middlemen as well as low application fees keeps costs down. Certain participants聽have a "commitment聽to聽social transformation." She and her聽research team found "respondents emphasize the value of sharing and collaboration, and some are highly critical of capitalism, the operation of the market, and the business-as-usual economy."聽Ideological聽motivations, however,聽tend to move users toward time banks and food swaps, not聽Airbnb or (formerly known as RelayRides), a peer-to-peer聽car rental聽service.聽Other participants聽enjoy the social connection these聽services create. And yet, the Pew survey found, many聽might not be comfortable interacting with strangers.听听

When it comes to Airbnb, half of respondents聽said they not聽comfortable staying in an owner-occupied聽home.聽"It's a dividing line," says Smith.聽"There聽is something about staying and sleeping in someone's home while they are still there.... Maybe it's聽a little聽off putting for some people."聽

It was no different in 2012 when the聽Monitor reported聽two聽women聽warned a聽Zimride聽driver聽they were carrying pepper spray.听听

"Although [the driver] understood they took the precaution because they were driving with a man they had never met, [he] says, "I thought to myself that I was glad to have prescription glasses and that I better keep them on,"聽writes聽Eileen聽Zimmerman.听听

Nevertheless, ride-sharing and other sharing economy services have increased substantially since 2012.聽Even last year, a聽PricewaterhouseCooper survey found聽聽of Americans participated in the shared economy, although 78 percent were聽interested in participating. Proponents, not surprisingly, are excited.听听Yet, others say its growth聽underlines the importance of聽further regulation.聽

"The sharing economy is changing views of ownership in聽the sense for workers to harness their聽possessions, their cars聽and homes, as money making resources," says Alexandrea聽Ravenelle, a PhD candidate at Graduate Center, the City University of New York, in a phone interview with the Monitor. "As with any change in the community,聽there are downsides. We need a strong mix of efforts from the government, from these companies, and聽from the workers聽for these services in order to drive the聽maximum聽benefit."聽聽

Editor's note: This piece has been updated to reflect the name change of Turo, formerly known as RelayRides.