The Network Society - University of Massachusetts Amherst

36 The Network Society
Although the analysis has thus far practically made reference to
European countries only, a more geographically comprehensive study,
such as that proposed by the World Internet Project (2005), establishes
the same relationship between Internet use and education.
Table 2.4 Internet use rates in the population with secondary and
higher education (%)
Secondary University
United Kingdom 64.4 88.1
Portugal 64.8 75.1
Germany 66.0 62.6
Hungary 14.6 45.5
Italy 53.5 77.3
Japan 45.7 70.1
Korea 44.9 77.7
Macao 49.5 76.7
Singapore 66.3 92.2
Spain 47.6 80.5
Sweden 76.4 83.8
Taiwan 18.2 54.9
USA 61.0 87.1
Source: CIES, Network Society in Portugal Survey, 2003 for Portugal; for all other countries
the WIP (World Internet Project).
In characterizing societies in transition, the similarities are crossed
with the exceptions and the question of Internet access offers a new
example for the affirmation of singularities.
Although it is possible to establish similarities between the access
rates in some of the countries studied here (Portugal, Poland, Spain),
we also immediately find differences as to the effective use of that
access. Indeed, if we establish a ratio between access and use, we see
that Portugal is one of the countries that makes most use of the existing
availability, putting it on a par with leading countries such as
Norway, the Netherlands and Finland and ahead of other societies in
transition such as the Czech Republic, which has high access figures
but very low effective use by its populations.
What this use of the existing access availability ratio measures is the
effective use of the technology, demonstrating that there must be
other factors endogenous to each society that could explain why there