Hi Fred, here's an interesting article describing how Canadians feel about the Net. Notice the percentage of home computer ownership and the percentage of Internet usage.
newsbytes.com
Canadians Call For Internet Regulation
Canadians Call For Internet Regulation 12/22/97 CANADA, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, 1997 DEC 22 (NB) -- By Martin Stone. Canadians are growing increasingly suspicious of the Internet and favor government regulation of cyberspace, says a poll released today by the Global TV Network and the Southam Newspaper chain.
The survey's numbers indicate women, especially mothers of young children, are leading the call for Internet control. When asked if they favor government-enacted laws to regulate the Internet, 66 percent of Canadian adults said yes. Among women in the 35-54 age group, 80 percent say they favor regulation.
The Southam-Global survey of 1,410 adult Canadians was conducted between Nov. 28 and Dec. 2. Results are considered accurate within 3.4 percentage points, 19 times in 20.
Peter Cooney, New Media Manager at the Montreal Gazette, a Southam newspaper, told Newsbytes he feels effective government regulation is impossible at that parental guidance and supervision is the best way to monitor the information children receive via the Net.
He also suspects the present technology cannot do a thorough job of filtering out objectionable material. "As a parent myself, I wouldn't rely on technology to do the job for me," he said.
The survey's analyzers blame a new wave of Internet users which has joined the original users, according to Duncan Mackie, senior vice-president of Pollara, the national polling firm that surveyed Canadian attitudes toward the Internet and other high-tech products.
"We have gone beyond the trailblazers, or first wave of users, who typically would not favor any regulation," he told Southam. "The trailblazers were predominantly young, affluent, middle-class males, but the second wave is more likely to consist of families using the Internet for information and entertainment.
"They are sensitive to such things as violence and pornography in other media, so it isn't surprising they would be sensitive to it on the Internet," he concludes, adding that the fact it is currently technologically impossible to fully regulate the World Wide Web is no deterrent to those who want regulation.
"There's a moral imperative at play. People might know there are technical obstacles but they want somebody to keep trying anyway," he surmised.
Cooney says, "The truth is, anyone who uses the Net, even kids, can soon learn to circumvent the controls."
David Jones, president of the anti-censorship group Electronic Frontier Canada, admitted to Southam that the poll result is disappointing, but suggests people will change their minds about regulation the more they use the Internet.
"The more experience people have on the Net, the more they appreciate its openness," he said. Jones, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., added: "They come to realize that they can make choices themselves and they don't need some bureaucrat to decide what they can see or not."
Further, Jones says there are too many myths about the Internet. "The truth is that the vast majority of content is not porn, but if you want adult content, you can find it. It's really more reflective of the individual than the Internet."
The survey also finds that despite concerns over the seedier side of cyberspace, 52 percent of Canadians say the Internet contains useful information and services. But, another 33 percent are more skeptical and say material on the Net is either useless or questionable.
"The Internet has been incredibly hyped and oversold," Mackie says in the Southam papers, "and that adds to people's disappointment and frustration. They have to wait a long time and wade through a lot of junk to find something meaningful. Many are saying they might as well go back to books."
Cooney says he suspects that once Internet service is offered by more cable TV and telephone systems rather than local ISPs, content will be easier to regulate. But he cautions against over-filtration. "If you take out a keyword like 'sex' you may lose a possibly essential medical site."
The poll also shows that most Canadians do not have access to the Internet. Only 16 percent have access at work, 13 percent at home and 10 percent have access in both places. But, of those Canadians without a home computer, 22 percent say they intend to buy one in the next year.
The number of Canadians with home computers will probably stand at 30 percent by the end of 1998, Mackie speculates, but adds that computer ownership is still confined to high-earning Canadians.
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Regards, Michael |
