Computer and Library Learning (Archived)

(Credit: "Revisiting the Digital Divide: Findings from the 2010 Canadian Internet Use Survey" – Research Data Centre Brown Bag Series presentation by Dr. Anabel Quan-Haase and Ph.D. Candidate Michael Haight, Dec 12, 2012 at Western University)

Statistics Canada recently released its 2012 biennial Internet use and e-commerce survey in late October 2013. This Individual Internet use and e-commerce, 2012 survey showed that the online purchasing activity of Canadians increased in value to $18.9 billion, up by 24% from 2010 when this survey was last undertaken. 56% of Canadian Internet users purchased goods and services online in 2012, compared to 51% in 2010. 77% of Canadian Internet users researched good and services online or “window shopped.” 69% of Internet users aged 25 to 34 were the most likely to purchase something online in 2012, the highest percentage of all age groupings. Of Internet users who did not purchase anything online, 30% indicated a preference for in-person shopping and 31% expressed no interest or desire for online shopping. However, 23% of Canadian Internet users sold items online through either online auction websites or other options. (Statistics Canada, The Daily, October 28, 2013, page 1)

Overall, Canadians’ Internet usage increased in 2012 with 83% of Canadians aged 16 and over using the Internet for personal reasons from any location, compared with 80% of Canadians in 2010. This slight increase in Internet use is partly due to the increased use of the Internet by Canadians who are 65 years of age or older. 48% of Canadians aged 65 and older used the Internet in 2012 compared with only 40% in 2010. (Statistics Canada, The Daily, October 28, 2013, pages 1-2)

Provincially, Internet usage in 2012 varied as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador 77%; Prince Edward Island 80%; Nova Scotia 79%; New Brunswick 77%; Québec 81%; Ontario 84%; Manitoba 83%; Saskatchewan 82%; Alberta 85%; and, British Columbia 87%. 85% of Canadians residing in census metropolitan areas (CMAs) or census agglomerations (CAs) used the Internet in 2012, compared with 75% living outside of those areas. The CMAs with the highest rates of Internet usage were Kelowna, British Columbia (93%), Regina, Saskatchewan (90%), and Victoria, British Columbia (90%). Also finishing above the national average were Calgary, Alberta (89%), Vancouver, British Columbia (88%), Toronto, Ontario (88%), and Montréal, Québec (84%). (Statistics Canada, The Daily, October 28, 2013, page 2)

The survey also addressed the issue of the “digital divide” and income gap in relation to accessing the Internet. 94.5% of the highest income quartile accessed the Internet in 2012, compared to 90.2% of the second-highest income quartile, 77.8% of the third income quartile, and only 62.5% of the lowest income quartile. (Michael Geist, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6989/135/ ) Internet usage tended to be higher in wealthier households across all demographics. For example, 66.7% of all households aged 65 and over in the top half of income used the Internet, compared to only 28.5% in the poorest income quartile. By comparison, some 95% of individuals aged 16 to 24 in the lowest income quartile used the Internet (Statistics Canada, The Daily, October 28, 2013, page 2) so there is still somewhat of a demographic gap as well between age groups.

Competition and pricing in wireless Internet services has played an influential role in shaping access to the Internet. 48.6% of Canadians used wireless services to access the Internet in 2012, compared to only 26.2% in 2010. (Michael Geist, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6989/135/ ). However, within these numbers, another element of the digital divide emerged – 84.2% of Canadians aged 16 to 24 used wireless Internet services in 2012, compared to only 8.7% of Canadians aged 65 and over. Household income levels are a determining factor in wireless Internet usage – 67.8% in the top income quartile have used wireless Internet services, compared to only 26.4% in the bottom income quartile. The digital divide also showed up within demographic age groups on the basis of income quartile.

University of Ottawa Law Professor and Internet and E-commerce expert Michael Geist made the point about wireless Internet access most eloquently:

“Given the digital divide, it is unsurprising that poorer Canadians rely more heavily on public access points such as libraries to use the Internet.  The biggest user of library Internet access are Canadians aged 16 to 24, where 21.5 per cent used Internet library access in 2012 (the overall figure for Canadians was 9.7 per cent). When broken down by income, the number increases to 26.8 per cent for the poorest Canadians in that demographic, compared to 16.3 per cent for the wealthiest in that group.” (Michael Geist, http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6989/135/ ) Dr. Geist opined that the government of Canada must re-emphasize its efforts of finding means to provide affordable Internet access to lower-income Canadians. Possibilities include a more competitive marketplace for wireless services, teaming up with internet service providers to establish programs geared to lower-income people, and rethinking the importance of the community access programs rather than cancelling them.

Regardless of the larger Internet and wireless context, Toronto Public Library provides free wireless Internet access at all branch locations. Users may bring a laptop or other wireless device (please ensure that the device is 802.11 b/g compliant) and connect to Toronto Public Library’s unsecured wireless network. Customers will be asked to agree to the Toronto Public Library Wireless Internet Access Service Guidelines before connecting. Customers may also access the Wireless Internet Access Tips on the Toronto Public Library website for further assistance.

Other highlights from the Internet Use survey included: the increase in Canadians accessing the Internet from a wireless handheld device (i.e. a cellphone or tablet) from 33% in 2010 to 58% in 2012 with 84% of Canadians aged 16 to 24 most likely to use these means to connect to the Internet and Canadians aged 65 and over the least likely to connect this way at 9%; 31% of Canadians used the Internet intensively for 10 or more hours per week; 28% of Canadians using the Internet in 2012 never erased their browser’s history, compared to 16% who did so after each device usage, and 56% who did so occasionally; 68% of Internet users occasionally backed up their files in 2012 (compared to 64% who did so in 2010), while 32% did not back up their files; and, Internet users employing security software on their devices dropped to 81% in 2012, but those employing free software alternatives increased to 47%. 71% of users aged 16 to 24 were the least likely to use security software. (Statistics Canada, The Daily, October 28, 2013, pages 3-4)

(Chart 1: Devices used to access the Internet, Statistics Canada, The Daily, November 26, 2013, page 2)