Grant Blank

Prepared for the Social Digital Research Symposium 25 April 2013

The Internet in BritainOxford Internet Survey 2011

•Rise of Next Generation Users

•Slow Pace of Diffusion

•Persistent Stratification

•Persistent non-use

•Persistent ex-use

Trends in Britain

• Waves: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013• Multi-Stage Probability Sample • England, Scotland & Wales

• Respondents: 14 years and older

• Face-to-face Interviews

• High Response Rates

• Sponsorship for 2013 from the Nominet Trust, Ofcom, dot.rural

• Component of World Internet Project (WIP)

Oxford Internet Surveys

Next Generation Users

• Goal: Understand emerging forms of Internet use without links to ephemeral, commercial products

• Strongly connected• Two characteristics

– Heavy mobile use – Access using multiple devices

59

6

35

67

5

2813

54

73

5

23

3240

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f th

e p

op

ula

tion

2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

All users Next gen user First gen user Ex-user Non-user

OxIS 2003: N=2,029; OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007: N=2,350; OxIS 2009: N=2,013; OxIS 2011: N=2,057

Internet Users in 2011

Characteristics of Next Generation Users?

• Who? – Well-educated, wealthy people who have resources– Equally students and employed

• Where?– On the move– In more settings

• What?– Active content producers on the Internet– Regard Internet as essential for entertainment– Regard Internet is essential for information

59

6

35

67

5

28

73

5

23

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f th

e p

op

ula

tion

2003 2007 2011

User Ex-user Non-user

OxIS 2003: N=2,029; OxIS 2005: N=2,185; OxIS 2007: N=2,350; OxIS 2009: N=2,013; OxIS 2011: N=2,057

Internet use in Britain: 2003-2011

12

13

4

7

88

105

87

29

6

65 64

5

31

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f eac

h ag

e gr

oup

14-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Users Non-users Ex-users

OxIS 2011: Current users N=1,498; Ex-users N=93; Non-users N=466

Users, Non-users and Ex-users by Age

3235

50

62

35 3438

52

40 3845 47

3135 34

40

19 21

1217 15 15 17 15

1118

9 9

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f ex-

user

s

Tooexpensive

Computerno longeravailable

Just notinterested

Movedhouse/job

Privacyworries

Toodifficult

Badexperiences

spam/viruses Ex-users. OxIS 2005: N=167; OxIS 2007: N=124; OxIS 2009: N=141; OxIS 2011: N=93

Reasons Ex-Users Stopped Using the Internet (QE4)2005 2007 2009 2011

38

7

27

6

26

62

2

8

1 2

0

20

40

60

80

100

% o

f no

n- a

nd

ex-

user

s

Too expensive No computer /Internet connection

No interest /not useful

Difficulty ofusing it /confused

by technologies

No time / too busy

Ex-users and non-users. OxIS 2011: N=559

Most Important Reason Ex-Users and Non-UsersDo Not Use the Internet (QE5 and QN2 by QH12)

Ex-Users Non-Users

Summary of Britain 2011

• Rapid growth of mobile use + multiple devices: NGU• Overall Internet use is rising slowly • Internet use is stratified by income, education and age

– Users: wealthy, well-educated, young

• Non-users and ex-users have different reasons– Non-users: lack of interest– Ex-users: high cost, lack of access– Many non-users have access through proxies

Expectations for 2013

• Growth of Next Generation Users– Perhaps over 50% of users– New digital divide

• Growth of Internet use – Possibly reaching 80%– Possibly among the elderly

• Rapid expansion of mobile use– Difficult question is, So what?

• Continued disruption of existing economic and social patterns– Continued empowerment of users

Thank you.

Grant Blank

Oxford Internet Surveyshttp://microsites.oii.ox.ac.uk/oxis/oxis@oii.ox.ac.uk

Oxford Internet Institutehttp://www.oii.ox.ac.uk