Half of Canadians Don't Have a Clue About the Internet
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority released a report today titled The Internet and Canada’s Future: Opportunities and Challenges. The CIRA questioned Canadians on what they thought were challenges, opportunities, and obstacles surrounding the internet. Many were unsure about issues surrounding the internet, only able to articulate personal benefits like search and social networking.
32% of Canadians could not identify an obstacle faced by individual users of the internet and 18% claimed there are no obstacles. However, among the more clever half, 9% cited a lack of digital literacy and 7% cited slow internet connection speeds.
When asked to identify the main opportunity for the success of the internet in canada, 50% of Canadians were unsure. Of those who did offer an answer, 9% suggested better access and cost, 5% pointed to improved communication, 5% to access to a wealth of information, and 5% to business and marketing opportunities. Somewhat surprisingly, just 4% believed it was education.
40% of participants were unable to articulate a challenge of the internet in Canada. Security was cited as the main challenge by 11% of Canadians, while 10% cited accessibility and 7%, cost.
The category which Canadians responded more broadly to was the personal benefits of internet users. 32% felt the top personal benefit was access to knowledge and information, while 17% felt it was communication and staying in touch with people. Education in research was the primary benefit for 8%. This question saw just 14% of Canadians fail to respond, by the far the highest participation rate.
