An Ericsson ConsumerLab study revealed that 56% of people in India feel it is easier to find products and services on the internet than through friends and family. The study, namely The Networked Life, also revealed that 52% consumers in India remain in the “un-networked group; Even among those who rarely use the internet, the study sees an appreciation of its benefits.
Among netizens, a variation in the levels of peer-to-peer sharing was observed. India has one of the highest levels of peer-to-peer sharing at 79 percent, the study said. Netizens worldwide were the forerunners of the networked lifestyle being embraced by 82% of the global consumers, the Ericsson ConsumerLab study depicted.
Vishnu Singh, director of Ericsson ConsumerLab, said the reason for people’s increasing use of the internet is that their perceived value of it is growing along with the rise in usage. “The networked lifestyle is all-inclusive because the benefit for each individual user increases as more people participate in the internet,” Singh said.
The need for mobility and the desire to perform digital activities while on the go are some of the key aspects of the networked lifestyle. For instance, 51 percent of netizens and only 3 percent of the un-networked currently use services that allow them to pause a movie or TV show on one device and resume playing it from a different device.
“We found a correlation between adopting a networked lifestyle and the belief that technology has a positive impact on society,” Singh said.
Across the spectrum, consumers recognize that social networks contribute to a wealth of collective intelligence that benefits all. Among the un-networked, 38 percent say it is easier to find products and services on the internet than through friends and family. 35 percent say it is easier to find products through social networks. “Even among those who rarely use the internet, we see an appreciation for its benefits,” Singh said.
While the networked lifestyle encompasses a wide range of usage levels, the clear forerunners in this way of life are netizens, who account for 17 percent of the 45,290 people who participated in the ConsumerLab survey, which was carried out in 24 countries.
Another 65 percent of respondents have adopted some aspects of the networked lifestyle. The remaining 18 percent are considered un-networked because they never use the internet, or log on only infrequently. The countries with the highest proportion of netizens are Chile (32 percent), South Korea (29 percent), and Brazil (28 percent). But Brazil and other countries with high numbers of netizens, including China and Colombia – are also home to a large proportion of un-networked consumers who use the internet less than once a week or not at all.
Lower proportions of netizens in highly industrialized countries such as Germany and the US are balanced by a larger distribution of those who use the internet with some regularity. A high percentage of netizens believe technology has the power to bring about positive change, and that it leads to the democratization of education.
The report presents insights from data gathered during 45,290 face-to-face and online interviews with consumers aged 15-69, representing 1.2 billion people in the following 24 countries-- Angola, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, the UK, and the US.
