At least 88 percent of Internet surfers in Guangzhou do so from
home, while only 3.2 percent use Internet cafes. The figures emerge
from a survey by the Guangzhou municipal government on how city
residents obtain the bulk of their information. At a news
conference to publicize the results of the survey, it was also
stated that while 25.4 percent of respondents surfed the net from
their offices, the rate for university students logging onto the
Internet from their campuses was only 6.3 percent.
Launched in April, the survey covered 10,000 households, focusing
on the number of families with computers and how they used the
Internet. Compared with a similar survey at the end of 2000, the
proportion of people surfing at home showed a rapid increase, with
a corresponding drop in those doing so from offices, campuses and
Internet cafes. In other words, the home has now become the main
place where citizens obtain information via the Internet, and the
personal computer has become a major tool for obtaining
information.
Over 60% Citizens Own Computers
The survey showed over 60 percent of Guangzhou citizens have
personal computers, an increase of 18.3 percent compared with 2000;
and in about 34.7 percent of families in Guangzhou, there is at
least one member used to surfing on the Internet, an increase of
13.1 percent; citizens who prefer the Internet to other sources
stood at 15.3 percent, an increase of 11.5 percent compared with
2000.
It
can be shown that whether in terms of the status of
computer-ownership, or computer-application or regarding the number
of on-line population or Internet-wired households, Guangzhou City
achieved an increase rate of over 10 percent.
Surfers Range from Youngsters to the Elderly
As
far as the age of surfers is concerned, an extension at both ends
has become a new characteristic. In this survey, among surfing
netizens in Guangzhou, the youngest is only five years old, one
year younger than the youngest child recorded in the previous
survey; and the oldest is 85, three years older than the oldest in
the previous survey. The average age for netizens in Guangzhou is
29.9-year-old, an increase of 0.7 years from the previous year;
over 80 percent of netizens are aged below 40, and the youngsters
under 18 take up 14.2 percent of the total.
The Proportion of Women Netizens Increased
This survey also shows that the proportion of women netizens
increased as well 42.1 percent against 57.9 percent for men. In the
previous survey, the female total was 40.9 percent. Of male
citizens, about 17.8 percent surf on the Internet, while 12.6
percent of women citizens surf on the Internet. Compared with the
latest survey conducted by CNNIC, the proportion of women netizens
in Guangzhou is slightly bigger than the national average of 40
percent.
7.44 Hours on Internet Per Week on Average
The survey suggests that Guangzhou sees a prominent increase
regarding the time spent on the Internet by Guangzhou citizens, and
the average time duration is about 7.44 hours per week, a 28.3
percent increase compared with the previous percentage.
Over 70 Percent of Netizens Never Visit Government
Websites
According to the survey, only 30.3 percent of netizens said that
they had visited government websites at least once. Generally
speaking, those who have better academic background or higher
income and those who are comparatively old are more likely to visit
government websites. Besides, people with their own careers are
more interested in visiting government websites compared with
college students or people without a specific job to serve;
meanwhile, usually, there are more men than women who are used to
visiting government sites.
Young People Aged from 25 to 30 Prefer Online-shopping
About 10.4 percent of netizens have tried on-line shopping or
e-commerce services. Women are more interested in on-line shopping;
Those with higher educational background or higher income are more
likely to buy via the Internet. One more thing to note in this
regard is that it is always young people aged from 25 to 30 who can
most easily accept online shopping style or online services.
Youngsters Like to Receive Education via Internet
The survey also shows that about 31.3 percent of netizens once
received online education; and it is usually youngsters below 18
who have more chances; students enjoy a higher percentage in
receiving online-education than others; at the same time, it's
difficult to find any trends in terms of the impact that personal
income could have on online-education.
(china.org.cn by Feng Shu, July 19, 2002)