Dissertation Writing Help on Understanding
Internet Usage
Pattern among Students in a Northeastern State of India
Project Report on Understanding
Internet Usage
Pattern among Students in a Northeastern State of India
Questionnaire on Understanding
Internet Usage
Pattern among Students in a Northeastern State of India
Introduction
Traditional media like newspaper, radio, television
and telephone are generally based on centralized production and distribution.
The growth of these media has been restricted to a particular area because of
their own inherent characteristics. The new media, especially the Internet does
not face such problems. It is more of a borderless media which is transformed into a network of networks. It gives a wide
range of benefits to its users. It has become an indispensable communication medium for the world population. All Rights
Reserved. In most of the developed and developing countries the growth of the
Internet and its penetration has surpassed the expectation of Internet Service providers
(ISPs). In India the growth of the Internet has started picking up since the government
announced favorable polices for the Telecom and ISPs. The growth is very high but
the penetration is still very low as shown in Table 1. It is this very attribute
which attracts the ISPs’ managers to know how the Internet is used in this emerging
market.
Table 1: Internet Users’ Statistics
|
||
Growth and Penetration
|
||
Country
|
Subscribers
(in million)
|
Growth
(Q1 2006-2007 in percent)
|
US
|
60.30
|
22.09
|
China
|
56.25
|
36.56
|
Japan
|
26.53
|
13.17
|
Germany
|
16.14
|
39.57
|
India
|
2.52
|
93.39
|
World
|
298.01
|
28.69
|
In India, every state has its own characteristic
to speak of. Northeastern States—some of the most distinct states in the
country in terms of their culture and less exploited resources—have succeeded these
days to get special attention from the public and private business houses. The
government has also taken several initiatives to improve the socioeconomic condition
of the people. ISPs do not want to leave any stone unturned to penetrate the
market as early as possible. Consequently, to penetrate the Northeastern market
of the country—one of the less saturated markets as reported by ISPs
managers—warrants an urgent understanding of how the people use the Internet.
The paper employs Uses and Gratification (U&G)
theory to understand Internet usage among the students. Understanding the students—one
of the largest segments of Internet users—is a prerequisite for ISPs to succeed
in this market. The paper throws light on how gender, monthly household income
and education—three important demographic variables—influence the Internet use
for different purposes. This study would be helpful for the ISP managers to
design product and promotion mix for the different segments of Internet users.
Moreover, research undertaken in this area will also enhance the understanding
of individuals’ motives and needs for a new media.
Literature Review Uses and Gratification Theory
U&G theory has been used frequently to understand
the underlying reasons people generally state for using a mass media. This theory
basically has its genesis in the field of media research. Katz et
al. (1974) explain that this theory assumes that media use is goal
directed and attracts only active media users. In addition, users are aware of
their needs and choose an apt media to gratify their needs. According to
Severin and Tankard (1997), this theory is a psychological communication
perspective which helps to reveal how and why people use the same mass media
for different purposes. In simple terms, Rubin (1994), states that the main
purpose of the theory is to study the psychological needs that influence the
people’s behavior towards media
use. People fulfill their intrinsic needs by keeping themselves engaged in certain
media. Ruggiero (2000), found that U&G theory is a time-honored theory. Consumers’
motivation for media use can be understood easily by using this theory. In
short, it can be said that the U&G approach can be helpful in explaining
how and why individuals use mass media to gratify their needs and also in
identifying the pros and cons of individual media use (Rosengren, 1974). The
main assumption behind this theory is that people make active decisions rather
than being just passive users of predetermined set of media services.
Internet Uses and Gratification Study
U&G theory has been applied to understand
consumption of all major media for several years. Mendelson used it way back in
1964 to study different factors which motivate individuals to use radio. Later
on, this approach has been used to understand the motivations and needs for using
newspapers, television, telephones, pagers and several other Communication media.
The rapid growth of the Internet as a mass media urged several researchers and scholars
to apply U&G theory to understand its usage. Rayburn, in 1996, suggested
that U&G approach is appropriate for understanding the Internet uses. He
substantiated his argument by saying that consumers make purposive choice for
visiting specific sites. According to Ruggiero (2000), Internet usage demands
higher level of interactivity from its users as compared to the traditional media.
These two reasons (user-directed nature of Internet media and Internet interactivity)
essentially make this approach suitable for examining the Internet use
(Stafford and Stafford 2001). Later on, Stafford et
al., in 2004 found that U&G approach is robust and useful in understanding
why and how people use the Internet.
Research Questions
Researchers all over the world have observed
that any mode of communication treats men and women differently. Earlier, women
used the traditional media like radio, television, pager, telephone lesser than
men. They were underrepresented and portrayed as less successful in movies, TV serials
and radio soap operas. A study done by Copeland (1989) confirmed that ender differences existed in TV programs. In
addition, differences have been found in the portrayals of men and women in TV commercials
(Craig, 1992). Similar differences have been found in the wire services which
serve the media (Moslem, 1989).
In India, women were lagging behind in the
usage of newer modes of communication. It is evident of our history—when the
first picture film was screened in India female roles were performed by the
male actors. Moreover, women were not encouraged by the society to be exposed
to new media. Radios, televisions and computers were first adopted by men.
These days managers of cybercafés have reported that cybercafés are visited
more by men. It suggests that the Internet usage is also male-dominated. It has
been observed that the quest for knowledge prompts individuals to look for new
avenues of information source. It suggests that level of education influences
the use of media. Here, Internet usage is also viewed in the same perspective. Similarly,
income affects the use of a newer media. Activities like searching for information,
playing games and chatting involve leisure and play. These leisure and play
activities are important because they are influenced by the money-spending attitude
of the individual (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). To a great extent, this attitude
is affected by the income an individual earns, one of the variables of money-spending
attitude. Based on the literature review, past observations and anecdotal
evidences, the present study examines how the gender of Internet users affects
the frequency of using the Internet for some purposes. The study also throws
light on the influence of other demographic variables: level of education and
monthly household income on the Internet usage pattern.
RQ1: Does gender have an
impact on the Internet usage pattern?
RQ2: Does level of
education affect the Internet usage pattern?
RQ3: Does monthly
household income influence the Internet usage pattern?
Internet Use
The first cybercafé ‘Sparkle’, in the area where
the survey was conducted, was opened in November 2000. The cost of surfing the
net for one hour was Rs. 50. Today there are cybercafés in almost all the localities
there and the cost has gone down to Rs. 30 per hour. Besides these cybercafés, there
are 26 Community Information Centers run by the State Government. These centers
are equipped with Internet facilities and are available to the public at a
cheaper rate of Rs. 20 per hour. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Airtel
are the only Internet, telecommunication and mobile connection providers in the
locality. The number of wireless connections allotted by BSNL in the whole
state till January 5, 2006 was 18,537. The number of landline telephone connections
and Internet connections allotted till December 2005 were 53,694 and 2149
respectively. (Source: Field Survey).
Methodology
The present study is exploratory in nature which
is designed to find out the usage pattern of the Internet among the students. It
has examined the effect of gender, level of education and monthly house hold income
of consumers on Internet usage pattern.
Population: All the students of three different schools
who are using the Internet— Government Higher Secondary School, Institute of
Comprehensive Education, and Home Mission College and two colleges— Pachhunga
University and J Thankima College in a state (a northeastern State of the
country) comprised the population. The schools and colleges were selected
carefully in order to have a representative sample of the state’s population.
Sampling Method: Convenience sampling (a non-probability
sampling method) was used to select different sections of the first and second
years of 11th, 12th and graduation classes. Students from both the arts and
science streams of these classes were contacted.
Sample Size: 200 students who were using the Internet
were contacted personally in the college and school premises. A structured
questionnaire was administered under the surveyor’s vigilance. Almost equal
number of boys (55%) and girls (45%) were included to avoid the gender bias. the
sample with the help of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire has three
parts. The first part comprises demographic details of the respondents. The
second part includes questions pertaining to different media uses. And the last
part is used to study the frequency of usage of various functions on the
Internet.
Sample Characteristics
Respondents’ Demographic Profile: The
data in this study were collected from those students who were using the
Internet in the months of February and March 2007. All the respondents were
between the age group of 15 and 24 years. Most of the respondents were
undergraduates. The level of education of 50% of the respondents was above
Intermediate. A high percentage (92%) of the respondents were Christians and
the rest were Hindus. Majority of the respondents were born in Mizoram. Almost 50%
of the respondents’ monthly household income was above Rs. 15,000. It is
interesting to note that majority of the respondents’ fathers were educated—30%
of them were postgraduates, above 34% were graduates and 36% had their education
till 12th standard. Among them, 47% work as government employees and 20% of
them run their own businesses. Majority of the respondents’ mothers also have
their education till 12th, and nearly 50% of their mothers were working.
Respondents’ Media Habits : Majority of the respondents watch serials
of Star World Channel and 18% of them prefer to watch the music channels like MTV and VH1. Sports
and news channels are their next favorites, followed by the Discovery Channel.
Most of the students seem to be reading one newspapers and magazines but only
56 have mentioned the name of the paper. 31% of them read Vanglaini
everyday. It is the most circulated Mizo daily in Mizoram. 14%
of them prefer reading English dailies. Among the English magazines, Cosmopolitan,
India Today, Readers’ Digest and
Sports Star are the most preferred magazines mentioned
by the respondents.
Internet Usage: 34% of the respondents have access to the
Internet at home, while 50 of them visit cybercafés. The cafés are situated
within a radius of 1 km from their homes. The rest of them go to their parents’
offices or their friends’ places for Internet usage. Almost 50% of the students
have been using the Internet for about three years, while 12% of them have been
using it for eight years. A majority of the respondents use the Internet in the
evening. Very few use it in the morning hours. Most of them use the Internet on
working days from Monday to Friday. Sunday is the least preferred day for the
Internet usage.
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