World Internet Project: latest NZ findings show greatest online privacy concerns focused on corporates not government
More New Zealanders are worried about companies checking on their personal online activity than about government keeping tabs on their online movements.
The finding comes from the latest World Internet Project New Zealand survey, which is carried out every two years by AUT researchers at the Institute of Culture, Discourse & Communication.
While 45% of survey respondents were concerned that companies and corporations were
violating their privacy online, only 33% held the same concerns about government.
Executive Director of the World Internet Project New Zealand research project AUT senior lecturer Dr Philippa Smith says media coverage of online privacy issues could explain why respondents reported greater concerns over corporates accessing their data.
“One possible explanation is the news coverage about the sort of information companies are able to access as a result of people agreeing to use their apps, social networking sites or websites,” says Smith.
“People may also be getting a sense of that intrusion on their online privacy when they suddenly get an email or a pop-up on their browser selling them something which is close to what they might have been searching or reading about on the internet.”
Despite these privacy concerns, 45% of respondents agreed there was no such thing as privacy online and they accepted that fact.
The privacy questions appeared in the survey for the first time this year.
Other survey findings provided a picture of how New Zealanders are using their time online: 95% of users were surfing or browsing the web (with 81% reporting this as a daily activity), 91% were looking for news, 85% were visiting social networking sites and 55% had paid taxes, fines or licences online in the past year.
Survey results also showed the internet trumping traditional media as an information source. More than half of respondents (56%) rated the internet as a “very important” information source, compared to 16% for television, 12% for radio, and 11% for newspapers.
Project Methodologist Professor Charles Crothers says the survey also explored respondents’ interests in expanding their internet use and found three quarters were interested in different types of use, including accessing education, more use for entertainment and use of government or council services.
"The high interest in accessing education and use of government services shows people may be moving to making use more of the internet's potential."
However, not everyone is accessing information online or reaping the benefits of the internet.
“The digital divide still persists,” says Smith. “Age and household income still seem to be the biggest barriers to internet usage.”
The World Internet Project New Zealand report notes that “as the availability and use of the internet spreads ever more widely across society, the social cost for the minority who remain on the wrong side of the digital divide keeps on climbing”.
InternetNZ Chief Executive Jordan Carter says the survey is a great initiative and provides concrete data to evaluate the state of the internet in New Zealand.
"The data provides valuable information about who does and doesn't have access to the internet –
and how people are using it. Among other advantages, it will prove helpful when researching and improving the digital divide that is evident around the country.”
Carter says the online privacy questions also provided some important insights.
"We were pleased to see that the majority of respondents – 68% – are active in trying to protect their online privacy. This does, however, give us evidence that nearly one third of people may need further education and information about the importance of online privacy. This is a key focus area for InternetNZ and something we are working hard on to improve," says Carter.
Smith says each survey helps to develop a better understanding of how New Zealanders’ are using the internet and how their habits and attitudes are changing as the technology evolves. The World Internet Project New Zealand survey is part of an international collaborative project undertaken in 39 countries.
Funding for the 2015 survey is provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, InternetNZ and Buzz Channel Marketing.
Click here to read the full report.
Highlights from the World Internet Project New Zealand survey results
- What are we doing online?
- 95% are surfing the internet, 91% are looking for news, 85% are visiting social networking sites and 55% have paid taxes, fines or licences online in the past year.
- How long are we spending online?
- Five out of six users spend an hour or more online every day and 58% spend at least 3 hours online.
- What do we think about the internet?
- More than 76% of respondents rate the internet as ‘important’ or ‘very important’ in their everyday lives.
- Who isn’t online?
- Being older, poorer and rural means a person is likely to be much less internet-active.
About the World Internet Project New Zealand
The fifth two-yearly survey of the World Internet Project New Zealand (WIPNZ) was conducted between September and November 2015, using both telephone and online platforms. The survey questionnaire has undergone substantial updating since the 2013 survey to keep pace with changing digital technologies and question changes agreed with our international partners, which in particular extended coverage of the areas of security and privacy. This report presents an analysis of the usage of and attitudes towards the internet of the resulting sample of 1377 New Zealanders. Longitudinal comparisons with the earlier surveys back to 2007 will be presented in a subsequent report.