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Digital Communities Final Report

E Use of and attitudes towards computers

Levels of Computer and Internet Usage Before and After Implementation

E.1 Prior to participation in the project, 52% of individual respondents in Bellsmyre and 61% in North Argyll already used computers. A further 23% of Bellsmyre and 18% of North Argyll Baseline survey respondents indicated that while they did not already use computers they had used them at some point in the past, bringing the total proportion of Baseline survey respondents who had used computers to 75% in Bellsmyre and 79% in North Argyll.

E.2 By the final survey, the majority of respondents (94%) in both areas had used the new computer. However, a small but significant proportion of respondents who indicated they did not use computers prior to participating in the project had still not used the new computer by the final survey (8% in North Argyll and 10% in Bellsmyre - see Figures E-1 and E-2).

E.3 At the Baseline survey, 48% of respondents in Bellsmyre and 64% of respondents in North Argyll had used the internet already.

E.4 By the final survey, 85% of respondents in Bellsmyre and 89% in North Argyll had used their new computer to access the internet. However, this varied significantly depending on whether they already used the internet prior to participating in the project (Figures E-3 to E-4). In Bellsmyre, just 2% of those who had already used the internet indicated that they had not used the new computer to access the internet, compared with 22% of previous "non-users". In North Argyll, 20% of previous non-users had still not used the new computer to access the internet by the final survey, compared with 3% of previous internet users.

E.5 Tables E-1 to E-2 indicate the number of hours respondents spent on (any) computers by the final survey (Wave 3) cross-tabulated by the number of hours they spent on computers at the Baseline survey (Wave 1). Table E-1 indicates that among respondents in North Argyll who did not use computers at all or who used them less than once a week at the time of the Baseline survey, computer use has increased but still remains fairly low - 66% of those who did not use computers at Wave 1 use them for five hours or less each week by Wave 3, while 20% use them for between six and ten hours a week. This broad pattern is also found in Bellsmyre, where 54% of those who did not use computers at Wave 1 used them for five hours a week or less at Wave 3. However, there did appear to be a slightly higher level of usage among some previous non-users in Bellsmyre compared with North Argyll - 28% of previous non-users in Bellsmyre, compared with 15% in North Argyll, reported using computers for 11 hours or more each week at Wave 3.

Patterns of Usage Before and After the Implementation

Computers

E.6 The most popular uses of computers identified by each of the three surveys were e-mail and accessing the internet (Tables E-3 and E-4). Respondents in Bellsmyre were more likely than respondents in North Argyll to report using computers for school work at each wave, reflecting the higher proportion of households with younger families in that area.

E.7 There were significant differences in the proportions of respondents saying they used the new computer for various tasks at Wave 2 and Wave 3 depending on whether they had already used computers at Wave 1. For example, 80% of Bellsmyre respondents who already used computers at Wave 1 said they had used the new computer for e-mail at Wave 2, compared with 61% of those who did not already use computers.

E.8 In general, the main uses participants made of their computers tended to be internet related rather than related to PC packages. For instance, at the final survey 84% of respondents in Bellsmyre had used their new computer for accessing the internet and 71% for e-mail, compared with the next most popular uses of playing games (59%), writing letters and other documents (56%) and listening to music CDs (56%). This may suggest that for future projects other mechanisms to facilitate internet access, such as Digital TVs and satellite, could be considered as alternatives to PCs.

The Internet

E.9 In using the internet, the most common tasks reported by the final survey were using e-mail and finding information about goods and services ( Table E-5).

E.10 There were some differences in the patterns of internet access between areas - for example, respondents in Bellsmyre were more likely to report using their new computer for general browsing or surfing, and playing or downloading music or games, while respondents in North Argyll were more likely to have used them for non-grocery shopping, probably reflecting the greater geographical remoteness of the area.

E.11 There were also some differences in patterns of internet use depending on whether or not respondents had previously used computers (Tables E-6 and E-7). For example, respondents who had not previously used computers were less likely than other respondents to report using the internet for tasks like buying or ordering tickets and services, finding information about goods or services, finding information related to education, etc. This was true at both Wave 2 and Wave 3 and in both Bellsmyre and North Argyll. However, by Wave 3 respondents who had not previously used computers were not significantly less likely than users to report using the internet for e-mail or for general browsing and surfing. Unsurprisingly, this appears to suggest that respondents who had not previously used computers are using the internet for a more limited range of basic tasks than respondents with previous computer experience.

Future Aspirations for Computer/Internet Use

Computers

E.12 There are differences in the aspirations for future computer use of respondents who did and did not already use computers prior to participating in the project. For example, at the baseline survey North Argyll respondents who did not already use computers were more likely to state that they wanted to use the computer for basic tasks like accessing the internet (35%), e-mail (30%) and writing documents or other letters (14%) ( Table E-8) than those who did already use a computer. Respondents who had already used computers were more likely than those who had not to mention using computers to perform more complex tasks in the future - for example using photography applications (15%) or other graphics or design packages (12%). However, by the final survey these differences between former users and non-users were not as apparent. For example, in North Argyll 21% of previous users and 22% of previous non-users said they would like to use computers for e-mail in the future, while 15% of previous users and 9% of previous non-users said they would like to use them for photography applications.

E.13 Similar patterns emerge in Bellsmyre ( Table E-9). For example, 10% of previous users and 8% of previous non-users said they would like to use computers for using or creating databases in the future at Wave 3 (compared with 6% and 1% at Wave 1).

E.14 This may suggest that the aspirations of participants who did not previously use computers have widened as a result of taking part in the Digital Communities projects.

E.15 In general, the range of things that respondents in Bellsmyre would like to use computers for in the future appears to have increased considerably by Wave 3. This pattern does not emerge as strongly for North Argyll. This may in part relate to the fact that participants in North Argyll were more likely to use computers already, and may therefore be expected to have fewer "out-standing" future aspirations for expanding their use. However, even if analysis is confined to respondents who did not use computers already, respondents to the final survey in Bellsmyre identified a wider range of computer activities they would like to take up in the future compared with respondents in North Argyll. This may, therefore, suggest that the Bellsmyre project has been more successful in "broadening participants' horizons" in terms of their perceptions of what they could do with computers in the future.

The Internet

E.16 Respondents in both Bellsmyre and North Argyll stated that they enjoyed using the internet most for e-mail (23% Bellsmyre, 21% North Argyll). In Bellsmyre, this was followed by general browsing and surfing (20%) and in North Argyll by finding information about hobbies and interests (13%).

E.17 Future aspirations for internet use generally reflected current patterns of usage - for example, the most popular use of the internet in Bellsmyre was for e-mail and this was also the most commonly mentioned task people would like to use the internet for in the future ( Table E-5). Again, for future projects it may be worth investigating other means of accessing the internet and e-mail, since these do not necessarily have to be PC-based.

Impact on Confidence Using Computers

E.18 Tables E-10 and E-11 show changes in the mean confidence for performing various tasks on the computer between the baseline and final surveys for all recipient and control group respondents who took part in both surveys. These show that across both the urban and rural recipients and control groups confidence has increased for many of the tasks listed.

E.19 Although the control groups for the final surveys are not a perfect match for the recipient groups, in that they both include a higher proportion of respondents who already used computers at the time of the baseline survey, the findings for the control areas do highlight the fact that confidence using computers is likely to increase naturally over time as more people use ICT to do more things. From these findings, it is not, therefore, possible to attribute any increases in confidence to participation in the Digital Communities project.

E.20 However, it is worth noting that 45% of respondents in Bellsmyre and 43% of respondents in North Argyll "strongly agreed" that they had become better at using computers as a result of taking part in the Digital Communities project.

E.21 It is also worth noting differences in the confidence levels of respondents who did and did not use computers already at Wave 1. With a few exceptions, the mean confidence scores for respondents who already used computers at Wave 1 show that their confidence performing various tasks tended to increase at each subsequent wave ( Table E-12). Respondents who did not use computers at the start of the project showed improvements in confidence in relation to basic tasks such as sending an e-mail, finding information on the internet and opening an attachment from an e-mail ( Table E-13). However, they appeared to be less confident overall in relation to other tasks such as writing a letter on a computer, using a computer to create a poster with pictures and words on it, creating a spreadsheet of household expenses, etc. This may suggest that respondents who did not use computers already have concentrated their efforts on using e-mail and the internet, but have perhaps become more aware of their limitations in relation to other tasks it is possible to perform with a computer than they were prior to participating in the project.

Impact on Attitudes to ICT

E.22 In the final survey, 68% of respondents in Bellsmyre and 75% of respondents in North Argyll stated that they would find it very or fairly inconvenient if they did not now have a home computer. However, there were significant differences in the responses of people who already had a home computer before taking part in the Digital Communities project and those who did not ( Table E-14). Those who did not already own a home computer before being given one by the project were much less likely to say they would now find it 'very inconvenient' and more likely to indicate that they would find it 'not very' or 'not at all inconvenient' if they did not now have a home computer. This suggests that the project has not been entirely successful in changing participants' attitudes to ICT in so far as at least some respondents do not appear to see particularly strong advantages in having a home computer.

E.23 Similarly, respondents who did not own a home computer at Wave 1 were less likely to say they would find it "very inconvenient" if they did not have home internet access and more likely to say they find this "not at all inconvenient" ( Table E-15), suggesting that the project has not been entirely successful in convincing all participants of the usefulness or importance of internet access.

E.24 Tables E-16 and E-17 show changes in the overall importance placed on internet access for various activities among respondents who took part in Waves 1 and 3 by whether or not they used the internet already at the baseline survey. Overall the importance placed on internet access appears to have decreased between the baseline and final surveys in relation to most of the activities listed. This is true for both respondents who did and did not use the internet at the start of the project, although the decrease in the importance placed on the internet is more marked for those who did not use the internet at the start. Again, this result appears somewhat counter-intuitive. However, it may be that at the start of the project participants (particularly those who had not used the internet before) had high expectations of the types of things they would be able to use the internet for or the new opportunities it would create but that these expectations were not borne out as the project progressed. This might be because participants experienced difficulties accessing the internet (e.g. slow connections, as discussed above), because they needed more training and support to help them use it, or it could simply be that the participants felt they had over-estimated the importance of the internet in relation to some activities.

E.25 Respondents were asked which of the things they might use the internet for was most important to them ( Table E-18). A higher proportion of respondents in North Argyll compared with those in Bellsmyre cited keeping in touch with friends and family as the most important thing for them (54% compared with 47%), while finding employment and careers information was most important for 10% of Bellsmyre respondents compared with 3% in North Argyll.

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