HOUSEHOLD USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN QUEENSLAND, 2008-09

Introduction
Household computer or Internet access
Type of Internet access
Use of the Internet by persons aged 15 years or over in Queensland
	Location of Internet use
	Purpose of any Internet use at home
	Other selected aspects of Internet use
Use of the Internet by children aged 5-14 years in Queensland
	Location of access
	Types of Internet activities
	Time spent on the Internet
	Internet safety and security
Use of mobile phones by children aged 5-14 years in Queensland

INTRODUCTION

This article presents results from the publication Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 8146.0) which was released on 16 December 2009.

The publication combines data from two surveys. The Multipurpose Household Survey for 2008-09 produced household use of information technology data and the Children's Participation in Cultural and Leisure Activities Survey for April 2009 which reported on use of the Internet and mobile phones by children.

HOUSEHOLD COMPUTER OR INTERNET ACCESS

The proportion of Queensland households with access to a home computer has grown from 43% in 1998 to 80% of households in 2008-09. The proportion of Queensland households with Internet access has grown from 15% in 1998 to 73% in 2008-09.

In Queensland in 2008-09, an estimated 20% of households were without access to a home computer and 27% of households without Internet access.

As use of the Internet has become more popular and integrated into daily life, the proportion of households in Queensland that have access to a home computer and also have Internet access has grown from 35% in 1998 to 92% in 2008-09.





TYPE OF INTERNET ACCESS

In 2008-09, there were 1,182,000 households in Queensland with an internet connection. Of these households, 87% (1,031,000 households) had a broadband connection, which was an 18% increase from the previous year (872,000 households). Dial-up only connection was reported by 11% of households with an internet connection, and 2% of households did not know their type of internet connection.

The uptake of broadband connections to households in Queensland is increasing at a faster rate than the decline in dial-up connections as new users choose broadband over dial-up and existing users change from dial-up to broadband connection. In 2004-05, of the 1,532,000 households in Queensland, 40% (619,000) had dial-up connection and 16% had broadband (239,000). By 2008-09, dial-up connections had decreased to 8% (136,000 households) and broadband connections increased to 64% (1,031,000 households).




In 2008-09, of the 2,303,000 persons aged 15 years and over in Queensland who accessed the Internet at home, 89% of these persons accessed the internet by broadband connection, 9% by dial-up, and 1% were not sure of the kind of connection used.

There are several types of broadband connections which subscribers may use. Of the 1,031,000 households in Queensland with broadband connection, 66% were connected using a digital subscriber line (ADSL/SDSL). For the remaining households, 12 % were connected by cable, 7% had a wireless connection, and 2% of households were connected by other types of broadband connection (including satellite and other broadband technologies). More than one in eight (13%) were unable to report the type of broadband connection to the household.



User familiarity with the speed of their broadband connection was relatively low. Of the 2,293,000 persons in Queensland aged 15 years and over with broadband access at home, only 27% knew the speed of their connection.


USE OF THE INTERNET BY PERSONS AGED 15 YEARS OR OVER IN QUEENSLAND

Location of Internet Use

During 2008-09, nearly three quarters (74% or 2,476,000) of all persons aged 15 years or over in Queensland accessed the Internet from at least one location in the previous 12 months. Of those persons who accessed the Internet, home was the most common location for more than two thirds (69%). Work (35%) and a neighbour's, friend's or relative's house (24%) were reported as the next most common locations for accessing the Internet. Other access locations were at an educational institution (14%), at an Internet or cyber cafe, shopping mall or airport (11%), at a public library (9%), at a government agency, department or shopfront (2%), and elsewhere (2%).




Purpose of Any Internet Use at Home

In Queensland in 2008-09, personal or private related purposes was the most commonly reported use of the Internet at home for persons aged 15 years and over, representing 97% of persons using the Internet at home. Work or business related purposes was the next most common use (50%), followed by educational or study purposes (36%), voluntary or community purposes (10%), and other purposes (2%).




Other Selected Aspects of Internet Use

In 2008-09, there were 2,301,000 persons aged 15 years and over in Queensland who accessed the Internet at home, who also stated their frequency of access. For 58% of these persons, their frequency of use was every day, 36% reported at least weekly use, and 6% at least monthly.

In 2008-09, of the 2,471,000 persons aged 15 years and over in Queensland who accessed the Internet at any site, 67% used the Internet to purchase goods or services for private purposes, and 33% did not use the Internet to purchase goods or services.

Of the 824,000 persons aged 15 years and over who did not use the Internet to purchase or order goods or services, 39% reported the main reason as being they had no need, 20% preferred to shop in person, 16% had security concerns,13% did not have a credit card, 6% had privacy or trust concerns, and 6% had other reasons.


USE OF THE INTERNET BY CHILDREN AGED 5-14 YEARS IN QUEENSLAND



Location of Access

Of the total number of children in Queensland (570,000), 79% (449,000) accessed the Internet at some site in the 12 months prior to April 2009. During this period, 73% of all children accessed the Internet at home, 67% accessed it at school and 37% at some other location.


Types of Internet Activities

In April 2009, the Internet was accessed at home by 417,000 Queensland children. Educational activity was the most common reason for accessing the Internet at home with 84% of children involved in this activity. Other activities were: playing on-line games (68%), general Internet surfing or web browsing (48%), listening to or downloading music (45%), Internet emailing (37%), using chat rooms, forums or instant messaging (29%), watching or downloading audio-visual content (27%), visiting news, sports or weather sites (26%), visiting or using social networking websites (21%), creating own on-line content (11%), making phone calls on-line (7%), using auction sites or Internet shopping (6%) and other activities (3%).



Time Spent on the Internet

In April 2009, of those Queensland children who accessed the Internet at home, 48% (200,000) reported they usually spent 2 hours or less per week using the Internet. Other usage amounts and percentages for children accessing the internet are as follows: 3-4 hours per week - 15%, 5-9 hours - 19% , 10-19 hours - 12%, 20 or more hours per week - 4%. An additional 1% did not know how much time was spent using the Internet.



Internet Safety and Security

In order to protect children and maintain security while using the Internet at home, parents/guardians took three main actions. These were: supervising or monitoring a child's use of the Internet (92% of children), educating a child about safe and appropriate use of the Internet (86%), and placing the computer in a public area of the house (82%). Other actions included installing an Internet content filter (46%) and other actions (6%). Parents/guardians took no action for 1% of children.


In April 2009, personal safety or security problems were experienced by 3% of Queensland children accessing the Internet. Access to inappropriate material was encountered by 1%, strangers asking for or gaining access to a child's personal information was a personal safety problem for 1%, and other personal security or safety problems for 1%.

USE OF MOBILE PHONES BY CHILDREN AGED 5-14 YEARS IN QUEENSLAND

At April 2009, 176,000 children in Queensland had a mobile phone and 170,000 had both a mobile phone and accessed the Internet. There were 115,000 children who did not have a mobile phone or access the Internet.

Of the 176,000 children who had a mobile phone, 59% used it mainly to contact family and 34% mainly to contact friends, while 7% didn't know the main use. An estimated 4% used their mobile to access the Internet.

As with use of the Internet, parents/guardians may take a number of actions to ensure personal safety or security in a child's use of a mobile phone. These include educating a child about safe and appropriate use of mobile phones (83% of children with a mobile phone), monitoring a child's mobile phone activities (57%), blocking phone numbers or restricting services (23%), and other actions (8%). For 10% of children no action was taken.



A safety or security problem with a mobile phone was encountered by 6,000 Queensland children (3% of all children with a mobile phone).

Similar information for other states and international comparisons for computer, Internet and broadband statistics between Australia and selected countries is available from Household Use of Information Technology, Australia, 2008-09 (cat. no. 8146.0).