The Motorola Report 1997 - The British and Technology

A recent MORI poll indicates that Britain is still divided along lines of class, gender and age where access to, and interest in, IT is concerned.

A recent MORI poll indicates that Britain is still divided along lines of class, gender and age where access to, and interest in, IT is concerned.

Over half of those repondents who were unemployed, and half of those respondents who were aged between 45 and 64 years old, believe they are being left behind on IT skills. Over half of those women surveyed believed the same thing (compared with under half of men surveyed).

Internet and on-line services

  • Ninety one per cent have heard of the internet but only 11% use it regularly
  • Twenty nine per cent of those who have heard of the Internet, but not used it, have no interest in accessing it
  • Thirty nine per cent of those without a computer at home would like to access on-line services through a television set: this compared with 23% who were willing to use a computer
  • Nearly three quarters (73%) of the population know little or nothing about digital TV

Usage of technology

  • Forty one per cent of British people claim that they are not regular users of technologies
  • Sixty two per cent of men and 55% of women expect to own PCs by the year 2001

Children and Technology

  • Sixty four per cent are worried that children are spending too much time on computers and do not mix with other children enough. Nearly half (48%) of parents with PCs at home share this concern
  • Just over three quarters (77%) of the population voiced a concern that their children prefer to play computer games than to exercise.
  • Of those parents with PCs at home, 80% claimed their children used their home computers for playing games

Smartcards

  • Over two-thirds (68%) said it would be acceptable to use a multipurpose smartcard for a number of applications such as a commuter card which combines a travel pass and a cash card
  • A similar number said that smartcards would be a suitable alternative to cash (67%), credit cards (67%) or debit cards (65%).
  • Sixty eight per cent said they would use a smartcard for a range of electronic transactions. The most popular being paying for TV programmes and banking from home using a telephone, both of which gained (37%)
  • Seventy per cent said they would be comfortable using a smartcard as an identity card, 70% as a driving licence and 66% as a passport

Mobile Phones

  • Mobile phone users are more likely to be young, in full-time work and members of the ABC1 social class
  • Sixty three per cent said they were comfortable using mobile phones
  • Dislikes about mobile phones include, ringing in public which was ranked most unpopular by both those who were regular users and those who were not (20%), followed by cost of calls, (24% among regular users, 18% among non-regular users)
  • Fifty eight percent of regular users, said they would use a mobile while driving, (42%) would not.

The report is available on the Motorola web site: http://www.mot.com/General/Reports/British-Tech/

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative sample of 1027 adults aged 16+, face-to-face between 1-12 August 1997. Data are weighted to the profile of Great Britain.

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