David Felton: 'We are rapidly losing our inhibitions about buying over the internet'
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Your support makes all the difference.We watch less television, do more of our work from home, spend less time shopping in stores and are devoting less time to our families. These and other changes to our lives and habits are being brought about by the internet, suggestsa study on how and why we use the web.
The survey showed that we are losing our inhibitions about buying over the internet and, in particular, have taken to banking online. More than half of us have used the internet to buy Christmas presents in 2002.
More than 3,000 people took part in the survey. (It does, however, come with a statistical health warning: respondents found the survey forms through this paper's website [www.independent. co.uk], so they were already on the web.)
The survey is the first result of a collaboration between The Independent, Sheffield University, City University and eDigitalResearch.com. It is already providing fascinating insights into how the internet is changing people's lives and spending habits.
One in six say they now spend less time working in offices. Almost four out of 10 respondents said they spend more time working from home. One-third spends less time shopping in stores, while a similar number said they spent less time doing Christmas shopping in stores.
But the biggest loser is the box in the corner of the living-room. More than four out of 10 people said they now watched less television because they used the internet. One in 10 said that going online meant they spent less time with their families.
Almost everyone who participated in the survey (98.9 per cent) used the internet for e-mails. The other main uses are online news (89 per cent), doing job-related work (69 per cent), seeking information on a hobby or interest (65 per cent) and looking for product-related information about items such as books, toys and music (62 per cent).
Online dating, regarded as one of the growth areas on the web, has been slow to take off among our respondents. Almost nine out of 10 said they had not tried it, while 75 per cent said they have never tried to meet people or make friends over the internet.
But internet use is expanding rapidly in finance and shopping, where many people have had reservations about security while using credit cards, or concerns about the quality of the goods they were buying online.
Almost half (49 per cent) use the web for personal banking and 58 per cent used it to buy Christmas presents last year, while a similar percentage who had not yet bought gifts said they intended to use the web to shop. Favourite purchases include books, videos and DVDs, children's toys and clothing. More than 85 per cent said they were either very comfortable or quite comfortable with giving credit-card details online.
So while we find the net useful in organising our busy daily lives, many use it for entertainment, which perhaps explains the fall-off in TV viewing.
The survey showed that one in five watched a video clip on their computer in the past week, 17 per cent downloaded games, video or picture files, and one in five used the net to listen to music. More than half (59 per cent) went online "for fun or to pass the time." More than one in 10 had visited an "adult" site in the past week.
The writer is The Independent's online editor. The British Life and Internet Project is a collaboration between Independent Digital, Sheffield University, City University and eDigitalResearch.com. Its aim is regularly to map the use of the internet in the UK and its effect on lifestyle and behaviour. See www.britishlifeproject.co.uk and www.independent.co.uk
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