The Internet nowadays plays a key role at all levels, i.e. government, corporations and individuals. As the Internet has become the fastest growing facility in the history of mankind, children are now called the ‘digital generation’.
ictQatar has done a survey of Internet penetration and computers in this country.
A random sample of 1,880 people from all walks of life was surveyed. I mention some of the facts from ictQatar’s survey, “Landscape 2013: Households and Individuals”.
The survey shows that people in Qatar prefer smartphones, which enable them to communicate easily everywhere. Therefore, smartphones and iPads have eclipsed all other competitors. Roughly 25 percent of Qatari families have at least one iPad as individuals have become more and more interested in the cyberspace. The use of Internet has grown in this country as much as in countries such as South Korea and the United Kingdom, according to the survey.
E-mail topped all Internet usage in 2012, according to the survey. Instant messages and social media came second, it said.
The survey revealed the following points:
• Roughly 85 percent of Qatari families have access to broadband connections, against 80 percent in 2010. Broadband subscriptions for mobile services have shot up, but the speed is rather low.
• Around 97 percent of young people, ranging from 15 to 24 years of age, have computers.
• Qatari women and old people have poor digital knowledge.
• Although one-third of Qatari citizens said they know nothing about e-government services, the Qatari people, in general, remain the most aware of such facilities. For instance, many people here pay their traffic tickets through the Internet.
Finally, I need to send due thanks to the Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology in Qatar for carrying out this survey, which has made headlines in Arab and international newspapers and websites.
