Large Proportion of UK Population Shuns Internet 07/08/00 Fifteen million adults in Britain will not be logging onto the Internet according to the latest annual Internet survey from Which? Online. The survey conducted by MORI found that this section of the population feel the Internet is irrelevant to their needs, with cost also being a significant barrier. However, over one in ten of those presently not connected, intend to do so within the next year. People with children are more likely to connect, with one in four intending to do so within the year. The same issues continue to be important as in 1998 and 1999. This suggests there may still be a lack of understanding of the Internet in the UK. According to Paul Kitchen, head of Which? Online, "For the third year running, the annual Which? Online survey has highlighted that a large proportion of the population is refusing to get online and saying that they never will. These 'never-users' are telling us that they think the Internet is irrelevant to them. Internet service and content providers need to establish a clear message for non-users to show how they can benefit from online activity. New methods of access like interactive TV and mobile phones, which offer consumers a mode of accessing the Internet without the expense of a PC, may change many minds. But if they don't, the digital divide may become a real problem." Already one in 14 Internet users have used a mobile phone or digital TV for Internet access, despite their recent launch in consumer markets, while one in eight users have logged on via their local cyber café. 29 per cent of all those questioned look forward to accessing the Internet through digital TV. The introduction of WAP mobile phones will make access to the Internet more available to everyone with half of Internet users surveyed wanting to email via their mobile phones. However, very few understand the terminology, with only one in three Internet users understanding the term WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) and even less recognised the term GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). The report also highlighted an increase in online shopping, rising to almost six million online shoppers. Almost a quarter of surfers now regularly shop online compared to one in ten in 1999, and only 2% in 1998. Internet users are making bigger and more significant purchases online with books being the most popular purchase. Other key findings of the survey included: There is concern amongst the public that the Internet is a threat to the High Street (30%) Only 11% of Internet users stated they get better customer service online Half the British public is concerned about using a credit card online (51%), but the majority of Internet shoppers (seven in ten) have no qualms about forwarding their details in to cyber space One in twenty Internet users have also now bought groceries online The survey also questions about general attitudes to the Internet in Britain, which again reveals some interesting findings: Fraud and morality still dominate most people's fears about the Internet, with fraud moving to the number one spot as the biggest concern with 58% and morality moving to second place with 54%. The threat to the High Streets has become a concern with 30% of the British population worried about how the Internet will affect the retail stores 23% viewed the Internet as a threat to family life, with 12% finding it a threat to educational standards Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents felt the Internet should be regulated - again unchanged from last year and the previous year 64% felt that the Internet had become part of everyday life Just under a third of those questioned (31%) would set up an Internet business if they had a good business idea and financial backing 55% of the British public believes that our future lives will be dependent on one mobile device, which allows access to the Internet, to shop online, send photographic images as well as speak to friends and family