Separated at home (and in Europe): Italians caught between culture and technologies
Tips of Nielsen research and some curiosities from Europe
More than 28,4 million Italians use the Internet: 2 and a half million more than 2008 and more than 5 million more than 2007. Notwithstanding this, only 42% of Italian families with a member aged btw 16 and 64 yrs old, accesses to the Internet. In this primacy, we come before Greece (31%), Romania (30%), Bulgaria (26%) (Source: Eurostat). For those families in the whole of UE25 Countries, access to the Internet rises in general: in Greece it grows from 26% to 31%: in Romania from 22% to 30%: in Bulgaria from 19% to 26% (just to look at those lagging behind Italy). In the top of the chart, instead, The Netherlands move from 83% to 88%, Germany from 71% to 76%: in France from 48% to 62%. Italy is the only European Country with a decrease: from 43% to 42% (Source: Eurostat).We are also the last for what concerns high bandwidth access (essential for content distribution): with our 31% (truly speaking, in 2007, only 26% of Italian families with a member aged btw 16 and 64 yrs old could have this access), once again we come before Greece (22%), Bulgaria (21%), Romania (18%). The Dutch and Danish “high-band” families are 74%, in UK 72%, in France 67% and in Germany 66%.According to the research done for the Osservatorio permanente sui contenuti digitali, 45% of Italians - 23,1 million – still doesn’t use the Internet. We are talking about 55 years old (or more) individuals, with a low education and salary level, highlighting a very important consequence of the related social and cultural digital divide: a strong limitation of market potentials for those companies producing and distributing (or about to produce and distribute) digital content on-line. Among those who use Internet, there is a 2% decrease in the segment which combines an aware, interactive and evolved (?) use of technologies with a strong inclination to consumption of cultural content (the so-called Eclectics, representing only 12% of the population).Technofans, instead, increase by 10%, with their “fun” approach to technologies which serve mainly as communication and socialisation means: technofans at the moment represent 27% of the population of 14 yrs old and more and – utterly – 58% of the 14-24 yrs old.The use of Internet for social networking purposes increases strongly in 2009 (+30%), while content sharing increases by 8% and chatting by 7%, as compared to 2008.Women older than 34, use less the Internet as compared with men of the same age: in the segment 35-44 yrs there is a 10% penetration difference between men and women (84% vs 74%). This difference increases (20%), when above 45 yrs old.26% of Italians using the Internet would be available to pay for a subscription to an on-line service providing unlimited access to films or music. 12% would pay for a subscription to a mobile service providing unlimited access to music.21% of Internet surfers, use peer to peer: a decreasing data if compared with the 24% of 2008 and 23% of 2007. Opinions on technologies? Italians are beginning to be more aware of the criminality of sharing copyright protected files.In 2007 a search on Google of “forum literature” was giving 1.680.000 results, today only 1.470.000. On the other hand, results for “forum soccer”’ increased from 1.940.000 to 4.850.000. Technofans (who are heavy users of new technologies but have little cultural sensitivity) have increased by 10% in three years. Eclectics (who combine a heavy use of technology with a strong attention to information, culture and service provided: they are the first e-book users) are 6,5 millions, decreasing 2% in the three years. Technofans are mainly young, the “clients of tomorrow”. From 40% in 2007, they are now 58%. YES to E-book, but numbers are still small and – at the moment – the most relevant content is work and study related: 14% of those owning a Pc would be absolutely in favour of using it to read a work/study related book. This percentage decreases to 6% if we focus on entertaining content. E-books on mobile phones are less interesting (4% for study and work, 2% for entertainment).10% thinks that in the future e-books (to be read on screen) will substitute traditional ones. While a consistent part (28%) of the population agrees “very much” with the fact that “it is right to provide availability of documents, editorial content, music files, films, etc...on the Internet”, there are strong signals of a greater sensitivity towards copyright protection. 20% of the population, in fact, states to be very much in agreement with the sentence “sharing copyright protected files is a crime” and 19% declares to be “against the use of programs which allow free download of copyright protected content”.