A few years back, when spam was just starting to emerge as a problem, doomsdayers predicted that annoying unsolicited emails could eventually drive users away from their inboxes, prompting many to stop using email altogether. But these days, four years after Congress passed the Can-Spam Act, spam has become an accepted part of the internet. A study released yesterday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that people are less bothered by spam than they were four years ago, when the annual study was first done. This year, 18 percent of respondents said spam is a big problem, compared with 25 percent four years ago. The percent who say spam is not a problem at all has gone from 16 to 28 percent. And many fewer people said that spam makes using email unpleasant or annoying, 63 percent, down from a peak of 77 percent in 2004. Meanwhile, there’s been no noticeable drop in email usage, despite the dire predictions. Deborah Fallows, senior research fellow for The Pew Internet & American Life Project and author of the spam report, talks to Media Life about why spam filters help, how much spam is still out there, and why pornographic spam still elicits strong reactions.

What did you find most interesting or most surprising about this study?
 
It’s definitely interesting that people are becoming less bothered by spam. One way to look at this finding is that people are just becoming used to spam, the way we become used to traffic congestion or air pollution.

We tolerate those problems because the alternative--not driving anywhere and not breathing--are not viable solutions. By analogy, we tolerate spam because we can’t do without email.

But I think another more positive way to look at it--and one that is supported by other findings--is that people are learning how to deal with spam, and that sense of control means they’re less bothered by it.  
 
 
What findings support this interpretation?

Well, more people are applying filters, so they know something about combating spam. And more people are recognizing spam, so they can dismiss it more easily and comfortably, and without having to give it their precious time and attention.
 

Has there been any change in spam patterns or usage over the years? How much more of a problem is it volume-wise than it was four years ago, when Pew began spam studies?
 
The volume of spam has always been a difficult thing to measure, and estimates have always varied a lot. Spam filtering companies, which engineer the filters, have been consistent, however, in claiming that the volume of spam has been increasing. The numbers have been growing, from 50 percent or 60 percent to 80 percent or 90 percent of spam as a percentage of email.

One thing is sure: there is still plenty of spam to go around. There seems to be more that exists, and despite the effectiveness of spam filters, users say they are still getting plenty of spam in their inboxes.

 
You say that pornographic spam is different from other spam. What makes it different, and how do people react to it compared with regular spam?
 
Pornographic spam, or spam with adult content, is different from other spam in the extreme reactions it elicits from email users.

People just go ballistic when they talk about porn spam.

Statistically, porn spam tops every list among the worst kind of spam or the kind that bothers them most. In a more subjective measure, when people talk about porn spam, different kinds of emotions surface.

The adjectives that people normally apply to other kinds of spam, like “annoying,” “bothersome,” “irritating,” give way to vocabulary like “horrified” or “disgusted” or “outraged.”

And further, people will say they are personally offended by porn spam, and that they fear for their children’s exposure to porn spam. These reactions are even more common among women, for obvious reasons.

 
You find that college graduates are more bothered by spam than those with less education. Why is that?
 
Well, while I don’t have the statistics to back this up, I could hazard a guess.

Perhaps more college graduates are using email in a work-related environment. In that case, spam interferes with productivity, as it takes up time and distracts focus. In general, spam becomes more costly to them and thus more bothersome.
 

Why are those who use the internet more bothered by spam than casual users?
 
The more people use the internet, the more it becomes integrated into their lives. When you use the internet in a rich way, you expect--and need--it to work well. That includes email.

Internet troubles have more consequences in an internet-dependent life. Slowdowns, lost connections, spam, pop-ups, error messages--interruptions of any sort--all get in the way of what you try to do and accomplish online.

 
How much have spam filters and the Can-Spam Act helped alleviate the spam problem?
 
There is no single solution to the problem of spam, but everything helps. Spam filters go a long way toward keeping spam out of inboxes. But everyone needs to use them, and they aren’t perfect.

The Can-Spam Act has gone a long way toward giving teeth to legal efforts. The law makes it riskier to be a spammer. But spam remains an international problem, outside the boundaries of the Can-Spam Act.

And it remains a personal problem. As long as people continue ordering products or services from spam, or responding to queries in spam for personal information, it will be worth someone’s while to be a spammer.