Indian Has No Use for Internet: Survey

Indians don't want the Net. At least, a whopping 63 per cent of them don't, even as an estimated 400 million people in the world use the World Wide Web daily. About one in four Indians in urban India have not yet heard of the Internet - the total population proportion (lowest urban SEC groups and rural population) is probably even higher, according to a study by US research firm Ipsos-Reid, of Paris-based Ipsos group.

And why? Among those who have heard of the Internet, "no use for it," with 63 per cent citing it as the reason for not going online. But, other mentions that show a very low degree of familiarity with Internet (eg, don't know how to use it, don't know how to get it) are also prominent.

Sharing the details of the survey with ET, Dr Gus Schattenberg, Vice President, Global Research wing of Ipsos Reid, said: "This suggests that public awareness of the Internet is at an early stage, due in all probability to limited mass public access and exposure outside of the technological elite in India's renowned high-tech sector.

"Thirty nine percent don't know how to use it, 32 per cent don't have a computer, 25 per cent are not interested in it, 24 per cent don't know how to get it, the cost factors keep away 9 per cent of them, while the content is not of interest/use/relevance for 3 per cent of them, and 2 per cent are not able to or feel too old to use the Net, the study has found. The global study was conducted in 30 countries, including "leading edge" nations like United States, Sweden, Canada, Australia, "advancing" countries like Japan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Mexico, "emergent" nations like Brazil, China, South Africa, and "nascent" nations such as India, Turkey and Russia.

The study has found that of the world's 6 billion citizens, only about 6 per cent are online. In the developed world, those who could easily go online have decided not to as they see no compelling reason to be on the Web. In the nascent, less developed nations, the cost of accessing the Internet competes with the cost for basic necessities, and access is very limited outside urban areas. Forty percent stay offline as they "have no need for the Internet," 33 per cent have "no computer", 25 per cent have "no interest," 16 per cent "don't know how to use it," and 10 per cent "no time," while 12 per cent stay away because of the "cost."

And will they go online in future, and how? Of the total India sample of 1,721 in 17 cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Calcutta, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jalandhar, Meerut, Mumbai, Nasik, Patna, Pune, Visakhapatnam, wherein only people aged between 18 to 69 were surveyed, 14 per cent were likely to adopt the Net while 15 per cent were not likely, while 26 per cent were not even aware of the Net. Sixty eight per cent were most likely to access the Internet from public locations such as cyber cafes, as against 40 per cent worldwide, while only 32 per cent Indians said they would access it from home in future, as against the 76 per cent respondents worldwide, and 26 per cent were willing to access it at work, as against 45 per cent worldwide.

"Internet "Intenders" in India are somewhat unique in the important role of "other" access points - typically, Internet cafes or other public locations. Access from home, office or school is somewhat lower than in other parts of the world, but more creative solutions such as cafes or shared terminals appear to be playing a major role bringing the Internet to the larger public in Urban India," Dr Schattenberg said.

So, while Europe is being touted as the centre of the next crest of the Internet wave, because of few barriers to getting online, thanks to good communications infrastructure, in countries likeurban India, there are more people with intentions of going online than there are people with Internet access.