Ammon News - By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN - A recent study showed that 71 per cent of Internet users in Jordan believe that virtual interaction is replacing personal contact and social activity.

The study, conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj, showed that 70 per cent of Internet users in the Middle East and North Africa region believe that online activity has supplanted normal social activity to the extent that today’s human relationships are mostly “virtual”.

In Oman, 76 per cent believe that being online is currently the main form of social activity, followed by Egypt with 74 per cent and Bahrain with 73 per cent, according to the study e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

An overwhelming 80 per cent of those surveyed from across the area agreed that instant messaging and e-mail, among other forms of online communication, are currently used instead of traditional means of keeping in touch such as “snail mail” and telephone conversations.

“As we move into an increasingly digital and Internet-savvy world, everyone in the region from business leaders to social workers to housewives - across generations - are embracing the Internet whether for work, social or practical purposes,” said Amer Zureikat, regional manager at Bayt.com.

According to recently released official figures, Internet penetration in Jordan currently stands at about 28 per cent.

Regarding access to information on the Internet, the study showed that 54 per cent of Jordanians believe that it is difficult to find what they are looking for on the Internet due to information overload.

The rate was 53 per cent at the regional level, while it stood at 68 per cent in Algeria, 63 per cent in Morocco, 43 per cent in Qatar, 48 per cent in Kuwait and 49 per cent in the UAE.

The survey also asked the respondents how much time, on average, they spend using the Internet for work and leisure purposes.

A total of 49 per cent said they use the Internet for work purposes up to two hours per day, with just a quarter of respondents using the Internet for three to four hours per day. Twenty-five per cent said they spend more than five hours per day online for work purposes.

As far as leisure use is concerned, 67 per cent of respondents in the region said they use the Internet up to two hours a day, but on the whole, respondents spent much shorter periods of time online for leisure than for work: just 14 per cent said they use the Internet for leisure purposes more than five hours per day.

Asked about what they use the Internet for, 83 per cent of the region’s respondents said they use it for e-mailing friends and another 78 per cent said they use it for reading news, at least once a month.

Among other popular online activities, 77 per cent said they used the Internet for job searches, while 57 per cent said they visit social networking sites and listen to music online, respectively.

The region’s respondents generally do not feel comfortable making payments online for personal matters, the study showed, indicating that only 45 per cent said they were comfortable making an online transaction.

Respondents in Syria, Egypt and Jordan were the most uncomfortable about making online payments, with 69 per cent, 68 per cent and 67 per cent respectively expressing discomfort.

Data was collected online between October 30 and November 22, 2009 from 13,847 respondents from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan. Males and females aged 16 years and older, of all nationalities, were included in the study.

Jordan Times