In the last year, public access to and use of the Internet has more than doubled, according to a new survey published yesterday by the Information Society Commission.
The commission was established to monitor the Republic's development as an information society and its latest report is a comprehensive study of the general public's attitudes towards and use of information communication technologies (ICT), covering everything from mobile phones to mainframe computers.
As well as highlighting advances made in use of technology, the survey underlines several areas of concern.
In the survey, conducted for the commission by MRBI and based on questioning of more than 1,400 adults, 28 per cent of those questioned had used the internet. Last year the figure was only 11 per cent and in 1997, only 5 per cent.
The survey also showed a strong demand for more public points of access to the Internet with the majority (57 per cent) showing an interest.
Despite this enthusiasm, most Irish people are still wary of the negative influence the Internet may have. Only 18 per cent of those asked could not think of a negative aspect. By far and away the biggest concern (59 per cent) was that children might be exposed to inappropriate material.
The bad news for Internet merchants was that around a fifth of those questioned also felt that the Internet offered potential for fraud, hacking, sabotage and general criminal activity.
The survey also showed that the use of PCs and laptops increased by 50 per cent in the last year. Thirty-six per cent of those questioned said they had used such items.
The spread of the mobile phone continued last year with 54 per cent saying they had used one, an increase from 31 per cent in 1998.
The survey also assessed how fast people took to using technology. Based on these figures, the typical Irish technophile will be male (64 per cent), under 34 (64 per cent), in the C1 social grouping (39 per cent) and from Dublin (43 per cent).
At the other end of the scale were the "late adopters", who are those who took longest (if at all) to take to ICT. The typical late adopter would be female, elderly, either a manual worker or member of the farming community and would most likely live outside the Leinster area.
In looking at the figures for late adopters the Commission stresses that there may be a danger of an information underclass developing with those left behind in the computer revolution becoming tomorrow's equivalent of illiterates.
The public's attitudes to technology was also examined in the survey. In general, these were very positive with 90 per cent agreeing that IT could help those at a disadvantage in society. Eighty per cent agreed that teaching quality in schools could be improved by use of technology.
The survey shows up a strong concern in the area of information being held on computer. Only 39 per cent of those questioned were satisfied that Government agencies would not misuse personal information, 35 per cent actively disagreed with this and 27 per cent did not know.
When the question was put more generally, 62 per cent said they worry about organisations having personal information about them on computer. Fifteen per cent did not know and only 24 per cent were not worried.
The public had further misgivings when asked about the impact of IT on their lives. Fifty seven per cent agreed that they were well prepared to take advantage of the work and lifestyle changes brought about by new technologies but 32 per cent did not.
When they were asked whether changes in IT and communications would make their employment and lifestyle more secure, only 36 per cent agreed with 35 disagreeing and 29 per cent being uncertain.
