Summary

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The Internet is fundamentally changing the way Canadians are conducting their lives. For example, the Internet has become an important channel for communicating with governments and searching for government information. This study examined responses to questions asked by the 2005 Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS) on the use of the Internet for these types of activities. An estimated one-third of adult Canadians (8.2 million), or 55% of home Internet users, went online for GOL-related reasons during 2005. This study identifies a number of important factors associated with accessing government information online.

In general, use of the Internet to search for government information or to communicate with governments reflects a mix of socio-demographic, as well as Internet use, characteristics. In particular, relatively more men than women were GOL users. Differences between men and women were also apparent in the frequency and intensity of their Internet use. Some of these differences may be explained from a time-use perspective; for example, in a study on gender roles (Marshall 2006), women reported being more time-stressed than men, overall. This sense of time pressure may influence how often and for how long women use the Internet from home, as well as the types of online activities in which they choose to engage.

Not surprisingly, education also made a difference in distinguishing GOL and non-GOL users. Individuals with higher levels of education were much more likely to use the Internet to access government information online than those with lower levels of education.

Clear differences also existed between GOL and other users in terms of frequency of general Internet use, hours of use, length or duration of online experience, and the number of activities in which users were engaged while online. For example, the 'number of activities while online' variable was significantly associated with the odds of accessing government information online. In addition, frequency of use and duration of connectedness (number of years online) were significantly associated with GOL use. This supports the hypothesis that GOL use requires a certain level of sophistication or 'Internet comfort'.

Another interesting finding was that although urban areas had a higher proportion of GOL users compared with rural and small town areas, holding other factors constant, this variable was not a significant factor associated with GOL use. Similarly, age and the presence of children under the age of 18 in the household were not significant predictors of GOL use. These are important factors to bear in mind for the future of government service delivery.

The most common reasons for accessing GOL, reported by over half of GOL users, were searching for information, accessing information on a program or service, and downloading a form. Among Internet users who did not access GOL during 2005, the most common reasons given were that they had no need or no interest in these services, and for some individuals, it was simply easier to use the telephone to contact the government. It is clear that a multi-channel approach is important to maintain, and that the more traditional ways of connecting with government continue to be offered. A large proportion of adults, while connected to the Internet, were not using the Internet as a means to connect with government services, while one-third of adults were not online at all.

One concern arising from the findings is how to bridge what has become known as the 'second-level' digital divide (Montagnier and Vickery 2007; Hargittai 2003; Fong, Wellman, Kew and Wilkes 2001; Chen and Wellman 2004) that appears to differentiate GOL users from other users. Thomas and Streib (2003) found that the use of government online services was not equally distributed among all segments of the population in the state of Georgia. For example, in their study, GOL users had higher incomes, were better educated, more likely to reside in urban areas, and less likely to be part of a visible minority. Similar patterns were observed here, as GOL users tended to have higher incomes and higher levels of education than other users and non-users. In addition, Canadian GOL users were more likely to be male than female. The challenge facing all levels of government will be addressing the reasons for not using the Internet that appear to be related to such socio-demographic factors. Overcoming concerns about specific privacy and security issues, as reported by relatively high numbers of both Internet users and non-users alike, represents an additional challenge.

Although not an exact comparison, Dryburgh (2001) estimated that 41% of Internet users had used the Internet to access information on government programs or services in 2000.¹ Thus, the rate of GOL use had roughly increased from just over four out of every ten Internet users in 2000, to more than one-half (55%) in 2005. Over the same period, the proportion of Canadians using the Internet increased from 53% to 68%. Results from the 2007 Canadian Internet Use Survey will allow us to continue to track the growth of GOL use among adult Canadians in order to better inform policies related to improving government service delivery.

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Note

1. Estimates from the 2000 General Social Survey (GSS, Cycle 14) were obtained by asking Canadians aged 15 years and older who had used the Internet from any location whether they had ever done so to access information on government programs or services. And with the prevalence of Internet use much higher among younger persons, the difference in target populations may serve to underestimate the increase in the overall Internet use rate.