Internet users show a range of attitudes toward...

and citizens’ behavior in the context of different aspects of their online experience, the Ipsos MORI report on “being online” said (http://xrl.us/bo8t5t). It divided respondents into the “highly digitally literate,” for whom the Internet had become a main way of engaging with the world; the “medium digitally literate,” for whom the Internet was a key part of their lives and who used it for distinct tasks; and those with “low digital literacy,” who used the Internet for a limited range of activities and tended to find it hard to learn new things. One key finding was that users made tradeoffs between the benefits and drawbacks of online engagement when deciding whether to carry out an activity on the Internet. For example, the report said, when deciding whether to buy something on a website not heard of before, users tended to balance the potential risk against the financial benefit of getting the lowest price. The thought process involved a variety of factors, such as previous experience of performing the activity, friends’ and families’ experiences and peer reviews of products or services. “Confidence in going online was a key factor in whether someone felt able to access the full potential of the web,” the report said. A second finding was a lack of awareness of how to stay safe online and many misconceptions about what “safe” behavior was. The research showed that many participants didn’t understand how safety mechanisms such as the green padlock, verified payment methods and other mechanisms worked, so failed to use them in a consistent way. People relied on their instincts to assess what to trust on the Internet, the report said. Another finding was a lack of understanding about how personal data are stored, used and transferred on the Internet. Many users were happy to allow companies to use their data with their consent, but there were also concerns about the consequences of doing so, the report said. Here, too, there were tradeoffs, as people decided to input personal information or agree to terms and conditions if not doing so would prevent them from getting what they wanted, it said. There was also a broad assumption that online rights and responsibilities should be the same as those offline, the survey found. “Most people were entirely unaware of their online rights,” it said. They believed that individuals have a responsibility to behave in a socially acceptable way online and that websites should monitor and address offensive comments while aiming to preserve free speech, it said. Finally, respondents believed the Internet would become increasingly dominant, a shift not generally perceived as problematic as long as the changes were seen to be beneficial to some. Respondents also predicted more harmony between humans and technology, the report said. While some were saddened by the idea of total access to all information, for free, which everyone would constantly interact with, most were “broadly resigned to this vision of the future,” it said.