Benefits of the Internet

Although the top three biggest perceived benefits (communicating with family and friends, access to information and online shopping) have been rated the highest during each of the last three years, the biggest increases were in the areas of working from home, online shopping, and cloud storage.

Access to information was still one of the most important benefits, but it also had the biggest decrease. Our research indicates that New Zealanders are more concerned about fake news and misinformation than ever before.

87% of New Zealanders say that the positives of the Internet outweigh the negatives.

Older New Zealanders are more likely to perceive the benefits of the Internet - this may be because they didn't grow up with it and don't take it for granted.

In general, women tend to perceive more Internet benefits than men.

Younger New Zealanders and men are less likely to say easy communication, access to information, and online shopping are key benefits of the Internet.

The type of information New Zealanders see as particularly important to have access to also reflects COVID-19 circumstances: news, updates from friends and family, health information, and government updates.