The World Online How UK citizens use the internet to find out about ...

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executive summary• Internet usage is driven by personal needand interest. Unlike broadcast and print,there is little discovery of content notdirectly relevant to the individual. Chanceencounters are few.•The audience’s relationship with the internetdiffers greatly from that with more traditionalmedia. Where broadcast and print mediadictate the stories told, the internet allowsaudiences to choose what they want to know.• The online news relationship is aboutbreadth of headline awareness and depthonly when a story is interesting. The youngerthe audience, the less ‘news interested’they are, and the more willing they are toadmit it.• The sphere of interest is primarily UKfocused, and therefore audiences rarelyencounter the wider world online. Thereare few examples of occasions whendevelopment issues meet personal areas ofinterest or relevance (e.g. a child on a gapyear, the World Cup in South Africa)• There is some evidence of the internet beingused to follow up specific lines of enquiry ormicro issues, such as finding out more aboutan interesting documentary on TV or how todo some volunteering work on holiday.• Since most people lack experience of findingout about the developing world online, theyhave little idea as to how they might go aboutit. Almost all searches start with Google, andthis search engine dependency brings withit a range of online literacy issues (notreflected in daily internet usage).• There is confusion around how to start asearch (which words to type in), how toassess the value and trustworthiness ofa range of unknown websites, and howto analyse the information gleaned whenrespondents have paid little attention to theactual websites and organisations visited.• Online illiteracy issues are more pronouncedthe older the audience. Confidence islower and usage more restricted to a fewcore activities.• Sites themselves are viewed very quickly,and are often dismissed on superficialgrounds (an unknown organisation is morelikely to be viewed than a familiar one if itssite looks more enticing). The aesthetics,layout and promise of interesting or relevantcontent are crucial in encouraging a visit.• There are four key challenges fororganisations involved in the communicationof development issues online:– There is a lack of interest in developmentissues unless they are personally relevant.– The internet makes avoidance ofdevelopment issues easier than other media.– Search engine dependency makes itdifficult for NGOs and other developmentrelated brands to cut through.– Audiences are either ‘news interested’or ‘internet savvy’ – few are both.Title of chapter/subchapter 3
introductionBackgroundThis qualitative research report was undertaken by TWResearchon behalf of IBT. Research was conducted amongst thegeneral public to explore how the internet is used in dailylife, and how it enables people to find out more about thedeveloping world. The research has two main objectives:1. To understand current online behaviour amongst keytarget audiences for development communications.2. To understand how the internet could be used to reachand engage priority audiences more effectively.The research processResearch was conducted in two stages. The first used groupdiscussions to explore current online usage, behaviour andrelationships. Respondents were asked to conduct tasks prior tothe group discussions, where they noted their online behaviour(which websites they used, what they used them for, how long theyspent online etc.) over the period of a week. In the second stagerespondents were asked to think about anything connected to thedeveloping world that interested them (they were encouraged tothink as broadly as they liked) and to use the internet to find outmore. Group discussions were then conducted to explore howrespondents investigated issues online and what they found.In summary:The sampleThe sample consisted of seven priority audiences,equally represented across the group discussions. Moreprofiling information can be found in the appendix.• Active Enthusiasts: Concerned about and engaged withglobal poverty. ABC1, aged 45-65, male and female.• Interested Mainstream: Concerned about globalpoverty. BC1C2, aged 35-50, male and female.• Family First Sympathisers: Concerned about globalpoverty but more concerned with domestic issues.C1C2, aged 30-45, mums with children at home.• Distracted Individuals: Concerned about global poverty,but distracted by their own problems C1C2, 20-35,male and female.• Young People aged 19-21: Interested in issues relatingto the wider world. BC1C2, male and female.• Young Men aged 17-18: Interested in issuesrelating to the wider world. BC1C2.• Young Women aged 15-16: Interested in issuesrelating to the wider world. BC1C2.STAGE 1PRE TASKWeek’s log of online behaviourWebsite repertoires7 X GROUP DISCUSSIONSExploring online behaviourSTAGE 2INTERIM TASKFind out about …. a ‘developingworld’ issue online7 X GROUP DISCUSSIONSExploring how new media isused to find out more aboutdeveloping world issuesResearch was conducted in London, Manchester and Derby in October and November 2009.The World Online How UK Citizens use the internet to find out about the wider world4
Page 1 and 2: The World OnlineHow UK citizens use
Page 3: forewordWe live in the age of the i
Page 7 and 8: “I think you get a bit lazy with
Page 9 and 10: “If I did want to find out about
Page 11 and 12: Figure 3: DFID and Poverty.com maps
Page 13 and 14: conclusions and recommendations•

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