Internet Changes Lives in SA
Forget the days when it took weeks to correspond by mail, the news arrived with the morning post and shopping required a trip to the mall. The Internet has changed all that and now these services are merely a click away.
But more than just lifestyle has changed. The profile of the South African Web user has changed from that of a ‘techno whizzkid’ to more like ‘the man in the street’.
A recent survey called Project SA User by WebCheck revealed that more users now consider themselves to be technologically advanced. The survey also indicated that there is currently almost an equal number of male (49%) and female (51%) users.
This is good news for a number of interested parties but mostly for South Africans themselves. It is a strong indication that we are keeping abreast of global technological changes and openly embracing technology.
Consider where we have come from with the appearance of an experimental browser called Mosaic followed by the introduction of Netscape. These first two popular connections allowed users to access the World Wide Web.
Since the 1990’s this technology has grown tremendously and users are now able to use the Internet for far more than basic emailing or browsing.
A recent survey called Project SA User by WebCheck revealed that whilst most users do still use the Internet for emailing there is a growing number that have ventured out and now enjoy the benefits of online shopping and banking.
Fourty one percent of South Africans who access the WWW at least once a month has bought online. Furthermore 78% of the interviewees thought that online banking is a good idea.
Surveys in America reveal similar results with most Americans using the Internet primarily for emailing, according to a survey by Pew, with 58 million users sending emails daily as opposed to the 35 million who use the Web to read the news.
Other Internet-based markets are also growing like rich media and multimedia which are fast becoming a big industry as more users take advantage of entertainment on the Net.
“Rich media and multimedia content are much more popular. Media companies are more willing to put in the money to produce it. They recognize that people can now use it” said Steve Outing of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.
Outing added that the biggest change has been affected by broadband.
“In the past 4 or 5 years, the penetration of broadband has changed everything,” he said. “The computer is always on and the information is always there.”
In South Africa the opportunities opened to users through broadband is no less significant.
We can now do our banking online, dabble in a bit of midnight gambling and even order our favourite DVD online ready for delivery all in a matter of hours.
Whilst South Africa may not be the first in line regarding the development of new broadband technologies we are not shy to jump on the bandwagon.
South Africans have been quick to see the fun to be had on forums with real time information sharing. These users fully understand what it means to be part of the Internet generation and have cultivated respected net identities.
South Africa seems to be well and truly embracing technology with the ‘man in the street’ fast occupying what was once the sphere of the ‘techno whizzkid’.
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