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British Web use surges
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September 16, 1999: 9:13 a.m. ET
But 40% of Britons -- 20M people -- say they'll never go online, survey finds
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Despite a record surge in the number of Britons surfing the Internet, 40 percent of the U.K.'s adult population -- 20 million people -- say they're perfectly happy to remain on the cyber-sidelines, with no intention of ever going online, according to a new survey.
Today, more than a fifth of Britain's adult population, or about 10 million people, regularly log on to the Internet, a 50 percent increase from the same period last year, according to an annual study of Web trends by Which? Online, the Internet arm of the British Consumers' Association.
A third of current non-users, the survey said, plan to get connected in the near future, as access costs continue to come down and technology makes navigation easier.
But the swelling ranks of Internet users belie a broader skepticism about the utility of the Internet in everyday life.
Unlike their American counterparts, who tend to treat the Web as a portal to a world of endless virtual possibilities, British cyber-junkies are more frugal in their approach. Three-quarters of British surfers spend less than five hours a week online; the average number of Web sites visited over a seven-day stretch is a relatively scant 13.
Moreover, ethical questions about the Internet have acted as a check on more rapid growth.
Fifty-seven percent of respondents, the survey found, said they perceived the Internet as a threat to the nation's morality, virtually unchanged from the level in last year's survey.
Three-quarters of parents said they wouldn't let their children use the Internet without supervision, while an equal percentage felt that greater regulation is needed.
Such sentiments fly in the face of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's appeal earlier this week for less state intervention in the nation's cyber-life and a greater reliance on self regulation by companies and individuals.
"To succeed, we have to be quick on our feet," Blair told a conference at Cambridge University. "We have to embrace the Internet now, not in a few years time. Most of all, if we are to succeed, knowledge and how we use it need to be at the heart of all that we do."
The Which? Survey suggested that Blair's message hasn't fallen on deaf ears.
A large majority of respondents, 75 percent, said they felt the Internet will be essential for the future. Even those over 55 years old -- the so-called "silver surfers" deemed least likely to join the Net ranks -- said they believe the new medium isn't about to go away. Women make up 43 percent of Web users in Britain, up 20 percent from last year, while over-55s now comprise 9 percent of Internet users, versus 7 percent a year ago.
About four million people, the survey said, have used the Internet for shopping, and around 1 million have bought a book online.
But, on a less sanguine note, the survey noted that "although falling, the proportion of non-users who do not expect to get connected is still over half. This suggests that almost 20 million British adults have no intention of ever going online." 
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Which? Online
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