'High level' confidence in internet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concern about the internet has fallen dramatically even though a quarter of social networks say their personal information could be seen by strangers, research has found.

Anxiety among UK adults about the internet has fallen from seven in 10 (70%) in 2005 to 50% in 2011, with confidence online at a "high level" of 84%, according to Ofcom's Adults Media Use and Attitudes report.

The fall in concern comes as people are spending increasing amounts of time on the internet, with the average user now online for more than 15 hours each week, an increase of five hours since 2005, said the study. Some 79% of adults now go online on any device in any location, up by 20% compared to 2005.

Social networking is continuing to grow in popularity and 59% of adult internet users say they now have a profile on a social networking site. However, the increase has slowed, with a rise of five percentage points since 2010 compared with increases of 10 points in 2010 and 22 points in 2009.

Among those with a profile, social networking is increasingly becoming a part of their daily lives, with 67% saying they visited the sites every day - up from 30% in 2007. Accessing social media on a weekly basis from a mobile phone has almost doubled in the last year from 15% in 2010 to 29% in 2011.

The increase is even greater among smartphone users, up from 39% in 2010 to 55% in 2011. However, a quarter of social networks in the UK (26%) say their personal information, such as their date of birth or hometown, could potentially be seen by people they do not know.

About one in six users of social networking sites (16%) say they share their contact details with anyone or friends of friends. Three in five (61%) only allow their friends to view their contact details and a further 13% say they do not have this information on their profile.

There has been little change in people's willingness to give out their personal information online, with 31% saying they would be happy to enter their credit or debit card details on websites compared to 28% in 2005.

However, users are increasingly looking for security signs like padlocks and system messages, up from 43% in 2005 to 56% in 2011. The number of adults turning to the internet for information about public services has risen from 49% in 2005 to 68% in 2011.

Those aged over 65 are less likely than other age groups to be online, with 51% saying they do not intend to get the internet at home compared with 15% of the population as a whole.

 

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