The divided attitude of Germans towards private internet use

„"Generation @" was the word of the year in 1999. The media revolution was taking hold in the everyday lives of Germans, who were investing more and more time and money in new forms of telecommunication – from email to e-commerce. Now, a good decade later, the proportion of private internet users has more than doubled – from 16 percent (1999) to 42 percent (2008). This is especially true for the younger generation. More than two-thirds (71%) of 14- to 29-year-olds surf the internet regularly (at least once a week), but read significantly fewer books (27%). This is according to a recent representative survey by the BAT Foundation for Future Issues, in which 2,000 people aged 14 and over were asked about their media habits. What might seem almost revolutionary at first glance only tells half the story: Most Germans (58%) are still "never" on the internet, and among the 55+ generation, a staggering 83 percent are internet skeptics and PC refusers. Prof. Dr. Horst W. Opaschowski, the Scientific Director of the BAT Foundation, says: "I'm online then – or not: That's the media landscape for Germans in 2008. Electronic data networks are all the rage, but in their private lives, most Germans prefer to laze around in front of the television. Everything takes time – including the future of the information society: The media industry's euphoric prediction that 'the web will devour television' can continue to be postponed indefinitely."“

No end to the digital divide in sight.
Those without education are marginalized.

Life online has become a matter of education. The proportion of internet users with a university-preparatory education (Gymnasium) is more than twice as high (62%) as that of those with a lower secondary school leaving certificate (Hauptschule) (28%). Using new information technologies requires education, knowledge, and skills. "The information elite is the @ generation of the 21st century," says Professor Opaschowski. "They live and experience the web lifestyle predicted by Bill Gates, a mix of surfing and chatting, emailing and mobile phone use. The future information society belongs to the better educated, who can be at home anywhere in the world or nowhere at all." However, those with less formal education have so far been largely excluded from this mobile nomadism. Lower secondary school graduates favor television for media consumption (95%), while PC use (29%) remains marginal.

Between "surfing" and "online dating":
What actually happens on the internet

The World Wide Web offers almost limitless possibilities. But what do Germans actually use when they're online? Only three areas are regularly used by the majority of internet users: email communication with others (731 TP3T), searching for information on a specific topic (601 TP3T), and random browsing without specific goals or intentions (641 TP3T). Dr. Ulrich Reinhardt, project manager for media research at the BAT Foundation, explains: "Even in 2008, most Germans are content with standard applications and hardly use the wide range of options available." For example, only about one in four respondents dares to handle their banking online (281 TP3T). And online shopping remains a competitor to shopping in stores only in niche areas. Only about one in five (221 TP3T) made at least one purchase online in the past week. „Today’s consumer still wants to shop with all their senses, to stroll and browse. Furthermore, public concerns about security remain a major obstacle to online shopping,“ says Reinhardt. Downloading games, music, programs, or images also remains uninteresting for the majority of internet users – only one in nine (111,130) is interested in doing so. Growth is expected in online dating platforms such as Xing and Facebook, as well as in video watching (both 201,130) on platforms like YouTube and others. In contrast, internet dating is not considered an alternative to flirting in real life by most Germans. Only 3 percent use it.

„"Maybe – Maybe not": The media world of the future

The development of new technologies and the spread of electronic media offer consumers a wealth of opportunities, but at the same time also bring them stress and hectic activity. Professor Opaschowski: "In their time constraints, Germans answer the questions 'what,' 'when,' 'how often,' or 'with whom' with time management: More and more activities are crammed into the same amount of time. This more, faster, and less intensive approach, however, also leads to greater superficiality." The media revolution is increasingly reaching its limits. The ever-increasing number of television and radio programs, new computer applications and websites, as well as more mobile phone plans and video games, leave consumers feeling overwhelmed. They can hardly find their way through the jungle of offerings and stick to the familiar: They prefer passively consuming television content rather than becoming truly active after work.