By Michael Alan Hamlin
August 2, 2010
Internet use is increasingly a lifestyle fixture throughout the Philippines according to the latest Internet usage survey conducted annually by Yahoo! and AC Nielsen. Three other findings are especially noteworthy: 1) Search, entertainment, and social networking are becoming tightly engrained in the lifestyles of Internet users; 2) While the digital divide is a concern, users across the age demographic rely on the Internet, but for different reasons: and, 3) Mobile access is going mainstream, likely due in part to low rates of home access.
Conducted in February, the survey had 1,500 respondents aged 10 and above in all regions of the Philippines. Overall, it found that 30 percent of Filipinos— more than 28 million individuals—use the Internet regularly. That’s close to the entire population of Malaysia, about five times the population of Singapore, and roughly four times the population of Hong Kong. Although the Philippines’ per capital gross domestic product is dwarfed by each of these nations, that hasn’t stopped Filipinos from going digital in significant numbers.
While Metro Manila has the highest percentage of Internet users at 40% of the population or about six million users— about equal to the population of Singapore—other urban areas showed increased Internet uage. For example, 37% of individuals living in Tuguegarao in Luzon regularly access the Internet, as does 33% of the population in the Visayas university town of Dumaguete and 29% of sprawling Davao in Mindanao.
As a friend of mine is fond of saying, “Dr Google” is users’ principal resource online, although Yahoo! and AC Nielsen didn’t exactly put it that way. Any way it’s described, search is big, with 76% of respondents indicating they use the Internet to find information online, up from 58% in last year’s survey. Internet portals (73%), instant messaging (68%), chat rooms (67%), and e-Mail (65%) are mainstream activities. Social networking wasn’t measured last year, but this year 53% of respondents said they use the Internet to visit these services.
When it comes to search, students aged 15-19 have the highest incidence of use at 84%. However, other demographic groups also rely heavily on Internet search: 76% of 10-14 year olds, 75% of 20-29 year olds, and 77% of 30-39 year olds. In fact, 58% of 40-50+ year olds participating in the study also use the Internet regularly for search. Somewhat more men, 78%, than women (73%) search online.
While 44% of these users are searching for information and documents, most are entertaining themselves, especially younger users. Overall, 62% look for images and 52% for videos, hopefully respecting intellectual property rights in the process. Another 31% are on the look for music and audio clips. Interestingly, relatively few users searched for blogs (13%), jobs (11%), and news (11%) online.
Respondents (69%) overwhelmingly rely on Internet cafés for Internet access. Slightly more respondents than last year, however, access the Internet from home, 31% compared to 27%. Access from school decreased from 7% to 4% and at work from 7% to 5%. That may be in part because mobile access is increasing, from virtually nothing last year to 5%. That shift is prevalent among young adults who can afford smart phones and high access charges. Eight percent of 20-29 year olds and 9% of 30-39 respondents regular access the Internet via mobile devices.
Social networks are prospering, with 53% of respondents visiting social networks regularly, and 30% user generated content sites—such as video sites—regularly. Among social networks, Facebook has grown rapidly in the past year. Only 4% of respondents said they used Facebook in last year’s survey, compared to 83% this year. Friendster remains a popular social network with 84% of respondents visiting regularly, but that is down from 92%. Six percent of respondents use the micro-blogging service Twitter regularly.
These popular online networks are primarily useful say respondents for staying in touch (66%), but they also seem to be taking over other mainstream activities, such as e-Mail (64%) and chat (63%) which can be performed within these networks. About the same number use social networks to pass time (63%), but interestingly, 59% use them for personal brand visibility, or to learn more about the personal brands of their network.
The results suggest that the new government can level the online playing field by providing wider and less expensive access to the Internet. Only 20% of D and E users have access, compared to 93% of ABC and 61% of C2. That may mean reviving the idea of a government- subsidized nationwide Internet backbone. The private sector will fight that move, but the reality is that despite large numbers of Internet users in the Philippines, the country will only be a digital nation when access becomes more universal.
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