Internet Approaching Mass Medium Status?
The most recent wave of the IriS Network Internet Usage Survey reveals a major increase in worldwide internet usage in the home. Despite this, the internet is still more of a niche, rather than a mass, medium.
While in most countries, the workplace is still the preferred usage venue (for cost and speed reasons), home use has nearly doubled in several countries. In Australia (25%), Sweden (21%), and the U.S. (23%), more than two adults in ten now use the internet at home. This compares to 8% in Great Britain.
PC and modem ownership has also grown, but at a slightly slower pace than internet penetration. Close to half of households in Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. now own a PC and about one fourth or more households in Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.S. are modem equipped. In Great Britain the equivalent figures are 32% for PC ownership and 14% for modem ownership. PCs are filtering down through the general population in several countries. For example, one quarter or more low income households in Australia, Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands have a home PC.
Finally, penetration of online commerce in the general population is still quite low. The U.S. leads the world in this area; one adult in ten reports making an online purchase. This compares to 2% in Great Britain.
Technical details
The IriS Internet Usage Survey has been tracking worldwide internet awareness and usage since 1996. The current survey is based on over 13,000 interviews conducted in 15 countries in early 1998 (Australia, China, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States). The IriS (International Research Institutes) network, represented by MORI in Great Britain, is an association of 30 independent research companies in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
