Believe it or not, according to a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the perceived ill effects of spam are declining. Perhaps we simply are becoming comfortably numb to spam.

The study notes that one year after the enactment of the CAN-SPAM Act, email users are receiving a bit more spam than before, but they appear to be somewhat less annoyed by the spam.

When compared to a year ago, fewer email users report that spam is undermining their trust in email, eroding their email practices, or otherwise annoying them. The study concludes that "the worse case scenario — that spam will seriously degrade or even destroy email — is not happening, and that users are settling in to a level of discomfort with spam that is tolerable to them."

Notably, users state that their biggest spam annoyance, pornographic email, has declined. On the other hand, 35% of email users currently report that they have been a target of phishing (having received unsolicited email requesting their personal financial information).

Statistical highlights from the study include the following:

• 52% of respondents still consider spam to be a "big problem."
• 28% with personal email accounts report that they are getting more spam than a year ago, whereas 22% state that they are receiving less.
• 21% with work email accounts report receipt of more spam than a year ago, with 16% stating that they are receiving less.
• -While 62% stated that spam has made them less trusting of email a year ago, only 53% say the same now.
• -Whereas 29% reported that spam reduced their overall use of email a year ago, only 22% currently state the same.
• While a year ago, 77% said that spam made being online unpleasant or annoying, the current percentage has dropped to 67%.
• A year ago, 71% reported that they had received pornographic spam, while now that percentage is 63%.

Who would have thought that spam might just become a necessary and somewhat accepted online evil?

Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris (www.duanemorris.com), where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology disputes. His column appears Wednesdays at USATODAY.com. His Web site is www.sinrodlaw.com, and he can be reached at . To receive a weekly e-mail link to Mr. Sinrod's columns, please send an e-mail with the word Subscribe in the Subject line to .

Reprinted here with permission from USAToday.com.