International Issues 1

Online Populations Around the world as
of 2002
World Total: 605.60 million
Africa: 6.31 million
Confessing in Cyberspace
800 million
Asia/Pacific: 187.24 million
3688 million
And Other International
Internet Issues of Importance
Europe: 190.91million
700 million
Middle East: 5.12 million
300 million
Canada and U.S.A. 182.67 million
282 million
Latin America: 33.35 million
690 million
Facts about the Digital Divide
THE GOOD NEWS: ƒ Fixed
telephone lines in developing
countries make up 43% of the world’s
total today, up from 12% in 1984
ƒIn the last four years 1.5 billion phone
lines were added to the billion laid in
the all the years before
ƒThree out of four new telephone users
are in the developing world
The Basics: A Telephone
World population covered by telephone service
Not served Developed
15%
18%
Developing
rural
32%
Developing
urban
35%
However. . . . .
The BAD NEWS:
ƒFewer than 3% of all Africans can
access telecommunications of any
kind
ƒOf 1.5 billion families worldwide,
one-third have only poor access to
telecommunications
ƒOnly one in 39 Africans had a fixed
line phone in 2001
The Next Requirement: A
Computer
PC numbers shot up more than fourfold from 1992 to
2002 to 586 million
The number of PCs in developing countries soared 12fold to 157 million, over that time
Still
Only 27% of developing country residents has a
personal computer
In India, touted for its software developing prowess,
well under 1% of the population has a computer
A paltry one in 130 Africans had a computer in 2001
1
And then, the Connection
Only 10% of world’s population online and
90% in developed countries (Global Consumer
Advisory Board).
About only 1% of people in world’s poorest
countries have used the Internet
Only 1/3 of people in LDCs are Internet
users
One out of 160 Africans used the Internet
in 2001
1 million villages worldwide are
unconnected
Information and Communication
Technology: An Historic Divide, An
Historic Opportunity
The Information on
the Digital Divide
was taken from this
document
prepared for the
ITU World Summit
on the Information
Society this week
in Geneva.
6,235 Internet cafes in Turkey
Internet Cafˇ Density by Population
Why does it Matter? Some
positive examples
Coffee and sugar cane farmers in India bypassing
middlemen, set fair prices, sell their goods and stay
abreast of agro-news via online databases
The 3500-strong members of the African Women’s Business
Association marketing their products and services
worldwide through a wireless system
South Africa shantytown residents selling sandals using
rubber from discarded tires over the Ecosandals.com portal
Rapid epidemic and crop disease diagnosis in remote
villages in India through e-mail and video conferencing
through a low-cost Internet kiosk kit
Internet Cafes and Telecenters
One Solution to the Internet Access
Problem
Minimal cost--often $1 per hour or less.
Often a hangout for adolescents (frequently
male) for playing games
When organized as a telecenter, can be
used for keeping in touch with family,
obtaining information about business and
markets and expanding information about
the world and the community.
Turkey’s Internet Statistics
17.1% used PCs in 2000
58% said cost was reason for not purchasing
E-mail and chatting most frequent uses of Internet
Between 17 and 36% of users are female
22-24% of people under 30 use Internet
ISP cost is high--$1.35 for 30 off peak
hours/month
PC penetration was 12.3% in 2000. Country’s
population is 68 million
2
Itiraf.com (Confession.com)
Begun in 1999 by Ersan Ozer, journalist
who thinks of it as a microcosm of Turkish
society
Conceived of as a storytelling medium
Traffic on the site varies. Today there were
visitors and
page views.
confessions were submitted and
messages were sent.
How We Did the Research
Began with a conceptual paper
Then we designed a web survey
We obtained Human Subjects
approval
We put the survey online and linked it
to the home page of itiraf.com with an
announcement.
Volunteers completed the study over
a three-week time period.
Advantages to Web Surveys
Easy to administer
Some types of questions are easier
for respondents (e.g. pull-down
boxes)
Good for populations where everyone
has access to the Internet.
Good for measuring responses with
young people.
May get larger number of responses
Ways to Understand the Popularity of
the Site
Like a Confession Magazine
Like talk radio/television or reality TV
As a substitute for religious confession
As a substitute for a therapist
As a great way to meet people and
communicate
As a sign of movement away from a
collectivist society and toward an
individualist society.
Problems with web surveys
Self selected sample, not random.
Difficulty generalizing to all Internet
users or even to all itiraf.com users.
Bias in the type of people who choose
to complete surveys
Difficulty with users who start but
don’t complete the questions.
May be limited in types of statistics
that can be used for analysis
Uses and Gratifications
Theory
Derived from the Social and Psychological
origins
Of needs, which generate
Expectations of
The mass media and other sources, which
lead to
Differential patterns of media exposure,
resulting in
Other consequences, perhaps mostly
unintended
Presumes an active audience
3
Demographic findings
Itiraf.com Use
4,531 Respondents out of a potential respondent
base of about 90,000.
3,958 respondents lived in Turkey while 505 lived
outside the borders and 68 didn’t list location.
54% (aged 22-30 ) and 28.1% (18-21)
79.1% in college now or college grads/went to
college
Most accessed Internet from home or work and
only 4.3% went to an Internet café.
52% of respondents were female.
Heavy Internet users--for work and pleasure
More than half read on the site daily
25% spend 45 minutes to 1 hour+ per
visit
More than 3,000 respondents have
contributed something to the site--so
an active “audience.”
Nearly 20% have met someone
through the site.
Motivation Factors for Using itiraf.com
P e r cen
t age
of
U s e o f In t e r n et f or Sp ec ifi c A c t i v iti es
ts r epo rti ng t ha t th e y U s e t he I n t ern e t f or
F r e quen
tl y o r o r S o m e tim e s
r esponden
2003
S u rv e y o f iti ra f .co
E m ai l
84 . 0%
M e s s ag i ng
56 . 4%
Pl ay i ng G
a m e s
R e ad i ng Ne
L oca
l/ Na
New
S ur fi ng
Co
S pec
i ng
Bu
il d i ng
Hav
i ng
V i ew
S hopp
)
)
85 . 5%
( 2003)
88 %
( 2003)
77 . 5%
n . a.
abou
M e e ti ng new
L i st en i ng
(2003
(2003
n . a.
e n ts
91 . 0%
ti on
W eb
sit es
t o t he r p la ces
peop
i n wo
le
sit es
a r o m an ti c re la t i on s h i p
i ng P ornog
i ng
66 %
(2002
25 %
f or hea
)
( 2002)
53 %
( 2002)
74 . 7%
n . a.
60
. 7%
r aphy
lt h i n f o
27 . 2%
37 %
( 2001)
19 %
( 2002)
10 . 3%
n . a.
15 . 5%
21 . 4%
13 %
61 %
1
2
3
4
.53
.63
.72
.67
.77
.70
.51
.14
.12
.18
.06
.24
.17
.17
.35
.35
.26
.12
.13
-.00
.01
.23
.21
.11
.10
-.01
.08
.37
Factor 2. Diversion/Entertainment
n . a.
16 . 9%
I can communicate with other people
I find people to talk with about my confession
I want to see othersÕreactions to my confessions
I like to talk with my friends abou t my confession
I want to see if my confession gets published
I like telling stories
I want to find dates
I find it exciting
I relax
I find it stimulating
I find it entertaining
I become aware of othersÕproblems
n . a.
27 . 2%
t o m us i c
web
rl d
30 . 2%
60 . 8%
I visit itiraf.com because. . .
Factor 1. Social Interaction
)
39 %
n . a.
rl d ev
ti v iti es
m er i ca n
69 %
69 . 9%
67 %
I n t er e s ti ng
i ng
%
(2003
81 . 4%
be t t e r i n E duca
Fi nd i ng
47 %
79 . 1%
ifi c S ub j ec t S ea r ch
a t ti ng
Do
Ac
Re s ea r ch
i ng wo
Ch
Know
37 . 6%
l
Factors
t hese
P ew
In te r n e t & A
L if e Pro j ec t *
92 % ( 2003)
In f o rm a ti on
c t i ng
F o ll ow
u se r s
22 . 5%
w s
ti ona l/ In te rna ti ona
s A w ar e nes s
ll e c t i ng
Condu
m
.21
.10
.16
.06
.10
.65
.59
.72
.77
.54
.21
.40
.08
-.02
.35
.13
.21
.22
.05
.04
( 2002)
( 2003)
Uses and gratifications
outcomes
Factor 3. Feelings/absolution
I feel more in control
I can test my personality
I get rid of guilt/regret
I find things in common with othersÕconfessions
.28
.15
.16
.18
.10
.15
.15
.48
.70
.80
.70
.57
.25
.17
.28
.04
.12
.13
.36
3.41
17%
.27
.25
.76
.24
.32
.75
.05
.23
.73
3.03 2.82 2.50
15% 14% 13%
Factor 4. Pressure relief
I feel less alone
I get away from pressure
I feel the need to talk to someone
Eigenvalue
Variance explained
Frequency of using itiraf.com is predicted
by gender, educational level, social
interaction*, feelings and diversion**
Submitting confessions/stories to site is
predicted by age, social interaction*** and
pressure relief.
Submitting comments to the site is
predicted by age, gender, social interaction
and pressure relief.
Meeting someone through the site is
predicted by age, gender and social
interaction
4
Domestic vs. International
itiraf.com users
Use of site was more about diversion for
domestic users and more about
educational level (less) for those from
abroad.
Submitting confessions and other
comments largely predicted by social
interaction for both groups.
Meeting others based on contact through
the site was predicted largely by need for
social interaction by both groups, but being
male and being older were more important
for domestic users as predictors.
5