-- Findings: Overwhelming majority of Internet users say
personal technology is making the world better; respondents in
developing and developed countries diverge on how technology will
affect them going forward.
DAVOS, Switzerland,
Jan. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A survey of Internet users
around the world conducted by Microsoft Corp. shows an overwhelming
majority believes personal technology is making the world a better
place to live and has vastly improved how they shop, work, learn
and generally get things done.
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There are nonetheless notable differences in certain attitudes
toward personal technology between developed and developing
economies. Developing countries express widespread enthusiasm about
the benefits of technology — including its impact on social bonds,
the sharing economy and personal fitness — while developed
countries, where technology is more ubiquitous, express concerns
about emerging issues.
Microsoft unveiled the results of its new survey Monday in
advance of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The report, titled "Views
from Around the Globe: 2nd Annual Poll on How Personal Technology
Is Changing Our Lives," encompasses the views of 12,002 Internet
users in 12 countries. This is the second year in a row that the
company has commissioned the study.
"Internet users overwhelmingly say that personal technology is
making the world better and more vital," said Mark Penn, Microsoft executive vice president
and chief strategy officer. "But there is a digital divergence in
the attitudes of Internet users in developing and developed
countries regarding how technology will affect them going
forward."
Among the overall findings of the poll are these:
- Majorities in all 12 countries surveyed think personal
technology has had a positive impact on their ability to find more
affordable products and start new businesses. They also say it has
benefited social activism, as well as innovation in business.
- A majority in nearly all of the countries thinks personal
technology has improved productivity.
- Compared with last year's results, more respondents said
technology has had a positive impact on transportation and
literacy, while fewer said it has benefited social bonds, personal
freedom and political expression. Concern about technology's impact
on privacy also jumped significantly.
- Indeed, in 11 of the 12 countries, most Internet users said
technology's effect on privacy was mostly negative. Majorities in
every country but India and
Indonesia also said current legal
protections for users of personal technology were insufficient, and
only in those two countries did most people feel fully aware of the
types of personal information collected about them.
As previously noted, attitudes toward technology in developing
and developed economies diverged in several key emerging areas:
- Sixty percent of Internet users in developing countries,
compared with only 36 percent of people in developed countries,
think personal technology has had a positive impact on social
bonds.
- Fifty-nine percent of people in developing countries think
technology-enabled, sharing-economy services, such as Uber and
Airbnb, are better for consumers than traditional services, such as
taxis and hotels. By contrast, only 33 percent of people in
developed countries think the new services are better for
consumers.
- Only 59 percent of people in developed countries, compared with
85 percent in developing countries, say they are interested in
working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
And notably, while 77 percent of women in developing countries feel
encouraged to work in STEM fields, only 46 percent of women in
developed countries do.
The poll was conducted between Dec. 17,
2014, and Jan. 1, 2015, and
surveyed Internet users in Brazil,
China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South
Africa, South Korea,
Turkey and the U.S.
The results were then weighted based on the size of the Internet
populations in each of the 12 countries. The full findings can be
found at http://blogs.microsoft.com/?p=45963.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide
leader in software, services, devices and solutions that help
people and businesses realize their full potential.