More Statistics

My tutor suggested that I read a relatively short document entitled
Internet Inequality in Wales Update 2005. This short report written by Sarah Richards is published by the Welsh Consumer Council.

I would never have thought of looking here for statistical information about the Internet.
But what a gem this report is. Short, concise, well written and informative. Every page a rich source of information.

The report is available to buy or as a free pdf . Guess which option I chose?
The report is short, five chapters and an appendix.

• Home internet Access
• Broadband
• Individual Access inside and outside the home
• Internet Usage
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Each chapter provides food for thought....

As might be expected the report relates to Wales but the issues are global; indeed reading the report I have been reminded of the Digital Divide which is clearly demonstrated here within fifteen miles of my home. In fact the statistics are staggering :-

In 2005 the percentage of adults with a home internet connection in the regions of Wales was as follows

• 51 % in North Wales
• 34 % in Mid / West Wales
• 39 % in South /West Wales
• 26 % in the South WalesValleys
• 48 % in Cardiff / South East Wales

Look at the 26% figure......thats staggering. I want to see the 2006 figures, when will they be published?

How many digital natives live in the valleys?

Looking for Statistics.

I've been doing some reading around the concept of the digital natives....been wondering about the original statistics quoted by Prensky in his original two articles. So I went looking for more up to date sources of statistics.

I'm not sure that my reading has led me to what I was looking for but I did come across several interesting sites.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project, created in 1999 as a Pew Charitable Trusts’ initiative, the Project studies the social and civic impact of the Internet, arguably the most far-ranging, behavior-changing communications innovation since the invention of printing. The project surveys not only what people think about the technology but also how they use it: for example, to expand their educational and religious activities, learn about health care, engage in politics and build relationships with family and friends.

The PEW Latest Trends pages provide recent statistics that might prove to be of interest.

I wonder if there is an equivalent project based in the UK.


As you might expect the Entertainment Software Association (again in the U.S. of A.) provide some interesting information about game players, and provide links to research indicating the benefits of game playing. I was taken with "the average game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for twelve years".


A little closer to home I came across the Interactive Software Federation of Europe.
More statistics with a European emphasis.
Check out the Digital Entertainment Facts, and the Studies and Reports.


A link from the ISFE led to this BBC commissioned report looking at UK residents and their gaming habits..

Interesting stuff

Digital Natives

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants are everywhere or are they?

There are two original articles by Marc Prensky

• Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants (2001)
• Do They Really Think Differently? (2001)

which led to the following paper by VanSlyke

• Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: Some Thoughts From the Generation Gap (2003)

which led Prensky to write another article entitled

• Overcoming Educators' Digital Imigrant Accents: A Rebuttal (2003)

Whatever you might think about Prensky's analogy (and I have my doubts) the two phrases Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants have slipped into our collective vocabulary.

It is my feeling that the phrases are

• often used to hide wooly thinking,
• are used by the technologically adept to frighten the technologically less adept
• are crucially are used as catch phrases to promote argument and discussion.

I suspect that we are being misled, it may be that the tribe of digital natives are little more than a myth.