Concerns about the internet

Respondents in the Digital Australians survey were also asked whether they had any concerns about content on the internet. Respondents generally reported a greater level of concern about this medium than television (56 per cent compared with 44 per cent). As shown in Figure 21, there were no significant differences by age, although women were more likely to report having concerns about what is on the internet than men. Parents of children under 18 were also more likely to be concerned than were other adults (63 per cent compared with 53 per cent).

Source: ACMA, Digital Australians online survey, 2011.
E3 ASK ALL: Do you have any concerns about what is on the internet? [Note that access can be on any device connected to the internet: a desktop computer, a laptop computer or netbook, a mobile phone (e.g. iPhone or other ‘smart phone’), an iPod or similar device, a tablet computer (e.g. an iPad), or an internet-enabled television] S/R
Note: Blue numbers represent differences that are significantly higher and red numbers significantly lower.

When asked to select up to three issues that they were concerned about, respondents who earlier indicated that they did have concerns about online content selected a different suite of concerns to those reported about television.

These concerns reflected consumers’ focus on the technology, and caution about aspects of the online environment, privacy and inappropriate content.

In contrast to the concerns cited about television, there were no significant differences between male and female respondents in the responses to this question. However, similar to the concerns identified about television, parents of children under 18 were more likely to report concerns about sexual content and nudity than were other adults. But like adults generally, the top concerns for parents about the internet were identity fraud, websites showing abuse of children and computer security.

A similar proportion of UK adult internet users (56 per cent) said they had concerns about what is on the internet when asked in the 2010 survey by Ofcom. The top (unprompted) concerns related to offensive/illegal content (such as content unsuitable for children and sexual content/pornography) and identity fraud.

Source: ACMA, Digital Australians online survey, 2011.
E4 IF AT ALL CONCERNED (CODES 02-05 ON E3): Which of the following are you concerned about on the internet? Please select the three issues that you are most concerned about (you may pick less than three if appropriate) M/R RANDOMISE—RESPONDENT TO SELECT 0-3 RESPONSES
Base: Respondents who were at all concerned about content on the internet, n=701.

More about attitudes to, and expectations of, media regulation is available in chapter 5 of Digital Australians.