IPMZ study: Swiss mainly inform themselves via the Internet
In 2015, 88 out of 100 Swiss people used the Internet—spending more and more time online and doing so significantly more often while on the go. The Internet is now the most important source of information, and many online applications have become part of daily life, yet concerns about online privacy are on the rise.
Furthermore, according to self-assessment, internet skills have deteriorated, especially among women. These are the findings of a survey conducted by the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ) at the University of Zurich.
"Switzerland's top result for internet access is clouded by disadvantaged population groups and growing concerns about privacy. Internet access is not everything," says Michael Latzer from the Media Change & Innovation department of the IPMZ at the University of Zurich. He and his team conducted the "World Internet Project - Switzerland" for the third time after 2011 and 2013. The representative survey revealed that 88 out of 100 Swiss people use the internet, while a further 5 benefit from asking relatives or friends to do something for them online. This means that just 7 - mostly those with a low level of education, low income and unemployment - have no internet access at all.
Regional differences have largely disappeared in recent years due to higher growth in Ticino. There has been strong growth in mobile internet use, which has tripled since 2011 (63%), mainly thanks to smartphones. The frontrunners here are 14 to 29-year-olds: Over 90% of them are also online on the move, for example on social networks such as Facebook.
Women lag behind in access, use and skills
A gender gap has opened up again in the last two years: Internet access has increased among men, but not among women. The latter are also behind in terms of mobile use (58% vs. 67%) and have a low usage intensity. 22 out of 100 Swiss women are online for less than 5 hours per week - twice as many as men. According to their self-assessment, women's internet skills have also deteriorated more significantly than those of men: 41% of women (2013: 27%) rate their skills as poor or sufficient. For men, this is only around a quarter. "This is problematic because we can also see from the data that poor internet skills correspond to feeling less part of the information society and being less active in data (self-)protection," explains Prof. Michael Latzer.
Usage time doubled, mobile usage tripled
At an average of 22 hours per week, the Swiss spend more than twice as long online than in 2011. 72% of internet users are also online while on the move - around three times as many as in 2011 (26%). E-mails and search engine queries are used the most and have established themselves as a daily routine. Although e-commerce is widespread, for example three quarters of users shop online, it is used comparatively rarely. Chatting (71% of users) has exploded, mainly thanks to WhatsApp, although young people are far more active there. The proportion of online gamers among the less educated is twice as high as among university graduates. Overall, information purposes continue to outweigh entertainment, where music applications (69%) and TV usage (time-shifted: 46%; live: 43%) have grown particularly strongly.
22 hours per week...? Please note our survey on the right!
Internet the most important source of information for the first time
For the first time, the Internet is the most important source of information for the Swiss population. Print media, radio and television are clearly lagging behind. Just under two thirds of the population consider half of the Internet content to be credible, especially that of the SRG, newspapers and public authorities. Content from online social networks enjoys only a low level of trust, especially among younger people. All sources of information, including websites, show a year-on-year decline in credibility.
Public service mission still important in the age of the Internet
Two thirds of the Swiss population agree with the statement that a public service mandate is also important in the age of the Internet (67%). 38% even strongly agree with this statement. In Ticino, people with a higher age, income and level of education, as well as men, value the public service more highly. There is less agreement with the fulfillment of the mandate: 44% think that the SRG fulfills this mandate very well, 13% strongly agree. 20 to 29-year-olds agree the least (8% strongly agree) and men overall more than women.
Major doubts about digital democratization
Since 2011, the search for political information online (43% of the population) has increased more than participation in discussions (6%) or digital protest activities (5%). Political debates, on the other hand, continue to be conducted exclusively offline (67%) rather than online (7%). Scepticism towards increasing democratization through the internet has decreased since 2011, but still predominates overall. The strongest positive effect of the internet is still assumed to be a better understanding of politics (42% agreement).
Skepticism about freedom of expression on the rise
In general, fewer respondents feel comfortable saying everything they think about politics (45%, -6 percentage points since 2013). Skepticism regarding freedom of expression online is also increasing year-on-year. Significantly more people than in 2013 believe that it is not safe to say everything you think about politics on the internet (63%, +15 percentage points). Nevertheless, internet users in 2015 are much more in favor of being able to freely criticize their government on the internet (55%, +9 percentage points). Free expression of opinion on the internet is most strongly supported by 20 to 29-year-olds.
Belief in own control decreases and concerns about data protection
Half of the Swiss population is concerned that companies are violating their privacy online. Concern about data protection violations by the government is lower at 40%. Concern has risen sharply among 14 to 19-year-olds, but remains at a lower level than among older people. A large majority (82%) state that they are very concerned about protecting their own privacy. Interestingly, the oldest and youngest age groups, low users and those with poor skills believe most strongly that they can control their privacy online.
World Internet Project
The World Internet Project (WIP) is a comparative long-term study that records the spread and use of the internet in 30 countries in an international comparison and analyzes the social, political and economic implications of network development. The WIP-CH project has been carried out by the Media Change & Innovation department of the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ) at the University of Zurich under the direction of Prof. Michael Latzer since 2011 and is based on a representative telephone survey of 1121 people aged between 14 and 84, which was conducted by the LINK Institute in May/June 2015. Members of the project team are Moritz Büchi, Natascha Just and Noemi Festic. The WIP-CH project is supported by the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Zurich and the Federal Office of Communications (Bakom).
All topic reports are available on Mediachange.ch available for download.
