UCLAが2000年8月15日に公開した調査報告

UCLAは1999年10月に調査した、一般ユーザーは重要なニュースをどのように知るかというレポートの調査報告を2000年8月15日に公開した。この調査報告の図表はURL(http://www.college.ucla.edu/InternetReport)で公開され、さらに複数の報告書にも利用された。その報告内容で注目されることは。映像が絶対条件であるテレビの情報をインターネットが抜き、新聞に次いで2番目に浮上し、近く新聞も抜こうという勢いである現状が、明確になったことである。つまり、娯楽性はテレビに期待するが、情報源としての役割は終わろうとしている。1995年から毎年米国大統領経済レポート(The Economic Report of the President)が発行され、PDFでダウンロードできる。Hispanic Businessは、UCLA Center for Communication Policyが2003年7月31日にラテン系で35歳以上の人と、ラテン系ではない35歳以上の人がインターネットを利用する比較レポートを公開したと報告した。詳細情報はURL(http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=11871)で知ることができる。UCLA Center for Communication Policyが2003年7月31日に公開したラテン系と非ラテン系の比較レポートはURL(http://www.ccp.ucla.edu/pages/NewsTopics.asp?Id=39)にある。ADVANCED INTERACTIVE MEDIA GROUPは2004年1月に、デジタル化された新聞と、その他の出版に関する調査研究レポート「Digital Newspapers: What, how and why」の全文をPDFで公開した。詳細情報はURL(http://www.aimgroup.com/FileGallery_Redirect.asp?UID=18257&FileID=1&FileName=1.pdf)で知ることができる。

UCLA Report Finds Internet Surpasses Television As Key Information Source

Date: August 15, 2000
Contact: Harlan Lebo hlebo@college.ucla.edu
(310) 206-0510

(Note: Graphs of the findings in this release are available at URL(http://www.college.ucla.edu/InternetReport). The full UCLA Internet Report will be released in October.)

After only five years as a widespread communications tool, the Internet is viewed as an important source of information by the vast majority of people who use the online technology - giving it a rating higher than for either television or radio - according to responses to a select group of questions extracted from UCLA's upcoming report on the global impact of the Internet.

The brief excerpt of the Internet report released today by the UCLA Center for Communication Policy - findings on the Internet and the political process prepared to coincide with the presidential conventions - found that more than two-thirds of respondents (67.3 percent) who use the Internet consider the technology to be an ''important'' or ''extremely important'' source of information, while 53.1 percent of those surveyed rank television and 46.8 percent rank radio at the same level. (The full UCLA report will be released in October.)

''The fact that the vast majority of Americans who use the Internet consider it an important information source - even though it has been commonly available for only a few years - vividly demonstrates how this technology is transforming the political process and the knowledge of voters,'' said Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, and head of the World Internet Project that includes the UCLA Internet Report.

The survey found that among all mass media sources of information, both electronic and print, books were ranked most often as an important source of information by Internet users, with 73.1 percent ranking books as important or extremely important information sources. Newspapers rank second (69.3 percent of respondents), followed by the Internet (67.3 percent), television (53.1 percent), radio (46.8 percent) and magazines (44.3 percent).

Among Internet users, only 8.3 percent ranked the technology as ''not important at all'' or ''not particularly important.''

Fewer non-users ranked the Internet as an important or extremely important source of information than any other mass media source; topping the list of important sources of information to non-users were books (ranked important or extremely important by 67.4 percent), followed by newspapers (66.4 percent), television (66.1 percent), radio (55.4 percent), magazines (39.4 percent) and the Internet (25.9 percent).

Four key questions about the Internet, politics and technology policy

The findings released today were extracted from a small group of questions in the ''UCLA Internet Report: Surveying the Digital Future,'' a project to be published in October that was created to be a key facet in the most comprehensive year-to-year study of the global impact of the Internet.

Funded by an unprecedented alliance of corporations and foundations, the UCLA Internet Report explores the massive political, social, cultural and economic change stimulated by the Internet, as measured by actions and perceptions of both users and non-users.

The UCLA Center for Communication Policy created and is the organizer of the World Internet Project, which includes the UCLA Internet Report and similar studies in countries worldwide. The first year of the World Internet Project will focus on the United States, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Sweden and Taiwan; it will expand to an additional 15 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America in 2001.

The findings released today analyze four key questions that will be central to the 2000 presidential campaign and national technology policymaking: privacy and the Internet, the credibility of online information, the relative importance of mass-media information sources, and the effect of the Internet on political influence and knowledge.

These results, only a few among hundreds addressed in the full report, begin to paint a picture of the Internet as a technology that is embraced by many but still mistrusted, while shunned entirely by non-users yet still appreciated by them as a growing presence in daily life.

''Whether you love it or hate it, it's clear that the Internet is not a passing fad, and its impact is real and profound,'' Cole said. ''Clearly, the Internet can both empower people and raise concerns; both of those perceptions are amplified in our brief early findings about the Internet and the political process.''

''The number of Internet users increases by more than 50,000 people per day - the equivalent of a small city population,'' Cole said. ''By going into households every year for a generation, the study will help us understand how non-users become users, how current users become more advanced and comfortable with the Internet, and perhaps most importantly, who remains a non-user - and why?''

Internet credibility

Opinions varied widely among users and non-users about the reliability and accuracy of information on the Internet. While more than half of Internet users (54.7 percent) say ''most'' or ''all'' information on the Internet is reliable and accurate, only 33.3 percent of non-users share that opinion.

At the negative extreme, 22.1 percent of non-users believe that ''none'' or a ''small portion'' of information on the Internet is reliable and accurate, compared to 7.5 percent of users. And, significant numbers of users (35.7 percent) as well as non-users (45.7 percent) said that only ''about half'' of information on the Internet was reliable.

''These findings about the credibility of online information speak volumes about the overall trustworthiness of the Internet,'' Cole said. ''If online organizations and individuals hope to rely on the Internet as a communications vehicle, the public's perception of information delivered through this technology must shift considerably.''

Privacy

The survey found strong agreement among both Internetusers and non-users who perceive that using the Internet creates risks to the preservation of individual privacy.

When asked if ''people who go online put their privacy at risk,'' almost two-thirds (63.6 percent) of Internet users and more than three-quarters (76.1 percent) of non-users either agree or strongly agree with that statement. Only 11.7 percent of Internet users and 13.1 percent of non-users disagree or strongly disagree that people put their privacy at risk on the Internet.

''Clearly, there is widespread concern about privacy and the Internet - and this issue is likely to loom large in the policies of both presidential candidates,'' Cole said. ''We will track this issue and work to pinpoint the specific causes of concern as use of the Internet grows.''

Political participation and the Internet

The survey found that the Internet has already become an important resource for gathering information about political issues, but is still emerging as a tool that could influence political decisions and government officials. When asked if ''by using the Internet you can better understand politics,'' 45.6 percent of users and 28.1 percent of non-users agree or strongly agree, compared to 21.2 percent of users and 33.9 percent of non-users who disagree or strongly disagree.

However, when asked about the Internet's actual influence on politics and government, the percentage of those who agree declines considerably.

When asked if ''by using the Internet you can have more political power,'' only 29.3 percent of users and 16.8 percent of non-users agree or strongly agree, while 37.3 percent of users and 48.9 percent of non-users disagree or strongly disagree.

Responding to the question, ''by using the Internet you have more say about what the government does,'' 23.9 percent of users and 16.8 percent of non-users agree or strongly agree, while 42 percent of users and 50.4 percent of non-users either disagree or strongly disagree.

Finally, when asked if ''by using the Internet, public officials will care more about what you think,'' 27.8 percent of users and 20.9 percent of non-users agree or strongly agree, while 36.4 percent of users and 44.3 percent of non-users disagree or strongly disagree.

''We are seeing that the Internet has rapidly become an information source about political issues - and even those who have never used the Internet express
understanding of its potential as a powerful political resource,'' said Michael Suman, research director for the center. ''However, the Internet is still evolving as a potential tool for wielding political power, and influencing public officials and government.''

Background: ''Surveying the Digital Future''

''The UCLA Internet Report: Surveying the Digital Future'' and its worldwide partner studies will provide the first comprehensive, year-to-year view of the global impact of the Internet. The findings will explore how the Internet influences social, political, cultural and economic behavior among both computer users and non-users.

The UCLA Internet Report is funded by corporations and foundations including the National Science Foundation, America Online, Microsoft, Disney, Merrill Lynch, GTE, Pacific Bell, DirecTV, Sony and the National Cable Television Association.

The UCLA Center for Communication Policy, created in 1993, develops policy and programs that address critical issues in media and communication. The center, affiliated with UCLA's Anderson School of Management and the College of Letters & Science, has organized or co-sponsored the landmark study of violence on network television, the first ''Information Superhighway Summit,'' and conferences on religion and prime time television, advocacy groups and the entertainment industry, and children in the media.

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