11.12.2009

Communication is the most important reason why the young use the internet

According to a study commissioned by FICORA, electronic services, information search and communication with other people are the most important reasons why the Finns use the internet. For young people aged 15–24, communication with other people was clearly the most important reason to use the internet.

Although the young generally play games, listen to music and watch tv programmes and videos, they clearly experience communication as the number one reason why they use the internet. The young communicate by many different ways; they use, for instance, e-mail, internet calls, instant messages, and discussion forums like Facebeook.

Apart from electronic services and information search, the use of internet services decreases fairly steadily in the older age groups. 62 per cent of the young use the internet to listen to music and the radio, whereas the corresponding figure in the 35–44 age group is 36 per cent, and only 8 percent in the oldest age group comprising 65–79-year-olds.

There are also significant differences between age groups when it comes to following current affairs. The young follow current affairs mostly over the internet and then in newspapers and on tv. However, tv is the most important source of news among the entire population, and only then come newspapers and the internet

Telephone services still have a firm position

In spite of the increasing popularity of the internet, telephone calls and text messages are still strong means of communication. Almost all Finns think that a phone call is the most important way to keep in touch with friends and family. Text messages took second place and e-mail placed third. More than one young person out of ten considered that instant messages and discussion forums were the most important methods of communication whereas only one person out of one hundred regarded e-mail as the most important method.

For the survey, titled Finns as consumers of communications services, 2,001 Finns aged 15 to 79 were interviewed between 16 September and 2 October 2009. The survey was conducted by IRO Research.

More on the subject:

Finns as consumers of communications services -survey [PDF, 135 KB] (in Finnish)

Age group specific results [PDF, 55 KB]: reasons for using the internet, following current affairs, and contacts with friends and family (in Finnish)

Further information:

Torsti Alhava, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 461, +358 50 514 8285
Joonas Orkola, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 734, +358 40 468 6018