He is around 35, urban, educated and well-off. He uses Windows 95 and accesses the Internet every day. If he hasn't spent money on the Internet before, he is planning to do so soon ... The 1998 Web User Survey, conducted by South Africa Online (http://www.southafrica.co.za) and published by Media Africa, provides the clearest picture yet of the typical South African user of the World Wide Web. More than 1400 South Africans participated in the most extensive research yet into the profiles, preferences and usage of the country's Web users. It is the second year in which the survey is being conducted, with twice as many participants this year as a year ago. The release of the survey results coincides with the launch today (April 24) of the Media Africa web site (http://www.mafrica.co.za), which carries a further breakdown of the findings. The Media Africa site also includes the most extensive resource on the Web on African ISPs and connectivity initiatives, as well as summaries of the 1997 SA Internet Services Industry Survey and the 1998 SA Web Commerce Survey from Media Africa. While the User Survey confirms many assumptions about the typical user, the numbers also hold major surprises, and perhaps even a nasty shock for businesses that believe the Internet is not a relevant marketplace. The key findings on user profile show that, while the percentage of female users, has increased from 16% in 1997, it is still very low, at only 19% in 1998. The average age of web users is 35, but with the biggest single biggest age group being those between 20 and 30. Youth (under-21: 8%) was again outnumbered by age (over 50: 11%), in a ratio exactly the same as last year. The key shift occurring in age levels was a drop in 20-somethings and a rise in 40-somethings, emphasising the growing importance of the Internet to mature users. The survey once again confirmed that Internet users are not lonely singles using the medium as a substitute for a social life: 56% of respondents were married or living together (1997: 58%); However, 6% were divorced, up from 4% in 1997, although this was still lower than the figure for the general population. The proportion of single users went up slightly, from 35% in 1997 to 37% in 1998. Average income is extremely high, at more than R11 000 a month, and the average South African web user is highly educated, with an average level of one-year of post-matric education. South Africa still follow world trends in terms of the most common occupation of web users, namely in Computers, but the figure has dropped sharply and an equal number of users are employed in management, up steeply from 1997. These figures reflect the extent to which the Web has been embraced by a mainstream audience outside the IT field. The numbers that will hold a shock for the fence-sitters of the business world relate to online spending. A hefty 43% of Web users have already made a purchase online in the past. While this may seem to lack critical mass, it is the future intention of Web users that must make the commercial world pay attention: 89% of users said they intended using the Web for making purchases in the future. The 1998 South African Web User Survey also examines the most common online purchases made by web users, there preferences for operating systems, web browsers, modems, daily and weekly print newspapers, and online news services. It elaborates on demographic statistics like geographic location, educational level, employment, occupation in terms of both position and industry sector, attitudes towards payment for online content and towards the cost and services of ISPs and Telkom, how long users have been on the Internet, where they gain access and how much time they spend every day on the Internet. The latter will also hold a surprise for Internet skeptics: 81% of respondents said that they access the Internet every day.
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