Sunday , November 24 2024
Home / SNB & CHF / Self-censorship increases online amid data privacy concerns

Self-censorship increases online amid data privacy concerns

Summary:
Some 92% when people in Switzerland are on the internet and nearly everyone under 55 is an internet user. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally) The Swiss are using the internet more than ever but have growing angst about companies like Facebook violating their privacy. The consequence is a rising trend to self-censorship: not looking for certain information or not expressing oneself online. The average time the Swiss spend on the internet has doubled since 2011 to 25 hours a week, according to the results of the fifth studyexternal link on internet usage by the University of Zurich published on Thursday. The number of non-users has more than halved in the past eight years and is largely among the population aged over 55. However, confidence in online information continues

Topics:
Swissinfo considers the following as important: , , , ,

This could be interesting, too:

Eamonn Sheridan writes CHF traders note – Two Swiss National Bank speakers due Thursday, November 21

Charles Hugh Smith writes How Do We Fix the Collapse of Quality?

Marc Chandler writes Sterling and Gilts Pressed Lower by Firmer CPI

Michael Lebowitz writes Trump Tariffs Are Inflationary Claim The Experts

Self-censorship increases online amid data privacy concerns

Some 92% when people in Switzerland are on the internet and nearly everyone under 55 is an internet user. (© Keystone / Gaetan Bally)

The Swiss are using the internet more than ever but have growing angst about companies like Facebook violating their privacy. The consequence is a rising trend to self-censorship: not looking for certain information or not expressing oneself online.

The average time the Swiss spend on the internet has doubled since 2011 to 25 hours a week, according to the results of the fifth studyexternal link on internet usage by the University of Zurich published on Thursday. The number of non-users has more than halved in the past eight years and is largely among the population aged over 55.

However, confidence in online information continues to decline, with six out of ten Swiss internet users saying that they believe at least half of the information on the internet is credible. The proportion of people checking facts on the internet rose sharply between 2013 and 2017, reaching 71% in the latest survey.

+ Find out about the 2017 results of the internet usage survey

Self-censorship concerns

Nearly half of Swiss internet users (45%) are concerned about internet companies like Facebook violating their privacy.

One consequence of this is that internet users limit their activity online: more than half (59%) state that possible surveillance dissuades them from freely searching for information such as sensitive political content or expressing their opinions.

“Deterrent effects due to a sense of surveillance are troubling from a democracy point of view,” says Michael Latzer, who led the study at the University of Zurich. “They threaten the exercise of fundamental rights and social participation via the internet.”

The results also reveal that many Swiss do not believe the internet will further improve the democratic quality of Switzerland’s political system. Only a minority believe that citizens can have more say (21%) and more power (27%) because of internet use.

A minority also thinks that the internet helps them understand politics better (40%) or that politicians and the government are more concerned about what they think due to the internet (27%).

Despite this, more people (51%) welcome electronic voting, with the greatest scepticism coming from older generations.

Digital drain

For those using the internet, addiction and overconsumption are growing problems, with about a quarter (26%) of internet users believing that they are wasting time that could be used for important things; 24% report that they spend more time than they would like online.

Some 38% feel pressure in their personal life to respond quickly to messages. This is even higher in the professional context, where about three-quarters of users (73%) feel this.

The study surveyed 1,122 people over the age of 14 and is part of the World Internet Project exploring internet usage in 30 countries.


Tags: ,,
About Swissinfo
Swissinfo
SWI swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Since 1999, swissinfo.ch has fulfilled the federal government’s mandate to distribute information about Switzerland internationally, supplementing the online offerings of the radio and television stations of the SBC. Today, the international service is directed above all at an international audience interested in Switzerland, as well as at Swiss citizens living abroad.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *