Internet use in Philippines Expanding to Lower Income Groups

A total of 28 percent of Filipinos in national urban Philippines are regular Internet users with five percent of users saying they access the Internet everyday, a survey by the Nielsen Company and Yahoo Philippines revealed Thursday.

The survey, conducted from October to November 2008, said Internet usage in urban centers has grown from 20 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to 28 percent by the end of last year. He said there are an estimated 35 million Filipinos in urban centers nationwide.

Jay Bautista, AGB Nielsen Company executive director for media, said Internet cafes have become an important access point for Filipino Internet users with 71 percent of the country’s estimated 20 million Internet population saying they have accessed the Internet through e-cafes in the past three months.

Great equalizer

He said affordability of access, either through Internet cafes, cheap netbooks and PCs, and cheap broadband is increasing the local Internet user base. He added, however, that Internet cafes are clearly favored by majority of the youth and people in the D and E socioeconomic classes.

“Internet cafes have become the great equalizer for all social classes in accessing the Internet. Forty-seven percent of all Internet time by Filipino Internet users are spent in Internet cafes. It’s the only medium that allows you to communicate, do research and even entertain you for 10 to 15 pesos an hour,” Bautista told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

The survey showed that 71 percent of Filipino Internet users accessed the Internet through Internet cafes in the past three months, 27 percent said they accessed it at home, seven percent said they accessed it at the office, and seven percent accessed it in school.

Eighty-one percent of Internet users from Class CDE said they are regular Internet café users compared to 21 percent from Class ABC1 and 27 percent from Class C2.

Bautista said the Yahoo-Nielsen Net Index Initiative is the first ever in-depth study of Filipino Internet users across 22 major cities in the Philippines. The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents aged 10 and above across all economic classes who have used the Internet at least once a month.

Young Internet base

The survey also revealed that the younger generation have become early adopters of the Internet. At least 49 percent of Internet users in the Philippines are ages 10-19 while 32 percent are ages 20-29.

Fifty-percent of Filipino Internet users ages 10-19 years old said they accessed the Internet at least once in the past month.

The survey also showed that Internet use in the Philippines is not restricted just to the big cities like Metro Manila. “For example, 35 percent of Filipinos in Cagayan de Oro have accessed the Internet in the past month,” Bautista said.

The survey also showed that 55 percent of all online users are from Class D socioeconomic class.

The survey also showed that Filipino Internet users are more likely to be opinion leaders and early adopters compared to traditional media consumers. They are likely to be individualistic, trend conscious, willing to pay for quality products, and are tech enthusiasts.

Breakdown of users Past Month Internet Access

10-19 years 50 percent
20-29 years 41 percent
30-39 19 percent
40-49 12 percent
50+ 3 percent

Online gaming, social networking drive usage

The survey also showed that e-mail, instant messaging and search are the most common online activities for Filipino Internet users. It said Yahoo is the dominant web-based e-mail, instant messaging, and search service in the Philippines.

It also showed that online gaming and social networks are becoming more common online activities for local Internet users. The survey said 53 percent of Internet users play online games. They are likely to be males and below 20 years old.

Bautista said social networks have become an important tool in communicating with friends and family. Fifty-one percent of local Internet users said they access social networking sites every month; 92 percent said they have a Friendster account.

The survey said 42 percent said they read a blog in the past month with at least one in three Filipino Internet users saying they have a blog.

The survey also showed offline texting is moving online. The survey showed 23 percent of Internet users regularly send text messages via the Internet.

On the other hand, online transactions or commerce remain low. Only three percent of Internet users conduct online banking activities or make online purchases.

Activity Monthly

Used e-mail 63%
Used Instant messages 63%
Used search 58%
Played games online 53%
Visited a social networking site 51%
Read blogs 42%
Download/upload photos 33%
Worked on personal blog 32%
Listened to Internet radio 28%
Download/upload music files 25%
Read news online on Internet portals 24%
Internet SMS 23%
Conducted on online banking transactions 3%
Purchased products online 3%