Can't Surf, Won't Surf

Which? Online's 2000 Annual Internet Survey Reports That 15 Million Britons Say They Won't be Getting On The Internet

Fifteen million adults in Britain won't be getting on the Internet according to the latest annual internet survey from Which? Online launched today. The survey conducted by MORI found that this section of the population feel the internet is irrelevant to their needs, with cost also being a significant barrier. However, over one in ten of those presently not connected, intend to do so within the next year. People with children are more likely to connect, with one in four intending to do so within the year.

The same issues continue to be important as in 1998 and 1999. This suggests there may still be a lack of understanding of the internet. This 'digital divide' could leave many out in the cold as the Government attempts to make us an e-literate nation.

Paul Kitchen, head of Which? Online, commented: "For the third year running, the annual Which? Online survey has highlighted that a large proportion of the population is refusing to get online and saying that they never will. These 'never-users' are telling us that they think the internet is irrelevant to them. Internet service and content providers need to establish a clear message for non-users to show how they can benefit from online activity. New methods of access like interactive TV and mobile phones, which offer consumers a mode of accessing the internet without the expense of a PC, may change many minds. But if they don't, the digital divide may become a real problem."

Already one in 14 internet users have used a mobile phone or digital TV for internet access, despite their recent launch in consumer markets, while one in eight users have logged on via their local cyber cafй. 29 per cent of all those questioned look forward to accessing the internet through digital TV.

The introduction of WAP mobile phones will make access to the internet more available to everyone with half of internet users surveyed wanting to email via their mobile phones. However, very few understand the terminology, with only one in three internet users understanding the term WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and even less recognised the term GPRS (General Packet Radio Service).

The report also highlighted an increase in online shopping, rising to almost six million online shoppers. Almost a quarter of surfers now regularly shop online compared to one in ten in 1999, and only two per cent in 1998. Internet users are making bigger and more significant purchases online with books being the most popular purchase. Internet shopping is popular amongst mature users (those who have been online for three years or more), seven in ten of whom have bought online.

Other Key Findings:

• There is concern amongst the public that the internet is a threat to the High Street (30%)
• Only 11 per cent of internet users stated they get better customer service online
• Half the British public is concerned about using a credit card online (51%), but the majority of internet shoppers (seven in ten) have no qualms about forwarding their details in to cyber space
• One in twenty internet users have also now bought groceries online

FAST FACTS

Internet user profile

• Nearly 13 million people are now using the internet. This area is still dominated by men, with one in three men compared to one in five women
• The proportion of older users continues to increase with one in ten over 55s now online
• Internet usage is increasing more quickly among the less affluent (C2DE)
• Internet uptake remains higher amongst those with children
• The rate of new joiners has declined in the last year
• A third of users are now online for more than five hours a week
• Email usage has increased in popularity with 69 per cent of users now regularly emailing
• The most popular sites visited are educational sites and those relating to hobbies
• One in 14 internet users are accessing the internet via mobile phones or digital TV
• 87% would be reassured if web sites carried independent certification that the site is safe for online shopping

Non-internet user profile

• One in ten non-users intend to get connected within the next year
• Half say they will never get connected (52%)
• A quarter of non internet users don't know what the internet is used for
• Cost is the biggest issue for younger non-users not getting online

General attitudes

• Fraud and morality still dominate most people's fears about the internet, with fraud moving to the number one spot as the biggest concern with 58 per cent and morality moving to second place with 54 per cent.
• The threat to the High Streets has become a concern with 30 per cent of the British population worried about how the internet will affect the retail stores
• 23 per cent viewed the internet as a threat to family life, with 12 per cent finding it a threat to educational standards
• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents felt the internet should be regulated - again unchanged from last year and the previous year
• 64 per cent felt that the internet had become part of everyday life
• Just under a third of those questioned (31%) would set up an internet business if they had a good business idea and financial backing
• 55 per cent of the British public believes that our future lives will be dependent on one mobile device, which allows you access to the internet, shop online, send photographic images as well as speak to friends and family

Technical details

This research took place between 18-22 May 2000 in 151 sample points across Great Britain. A total of 1,970 face-to-face interviews were conducted using the latest CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) with a nationally representative sample of adults aged 15+.