Culture Bulleted List
American images
- A majority of respondents (65.7%) feel that the use of predominantly American images has no effect on computer use. However, 22% think American images make computers harder to learn and use; 14% think American images will be offensive to new computer users; and 12.5% think American images offend even experienced users.
- Experts were more likely than intermediate users, who were more likely than novices to say that American images have an effect on computer use in other cultures, for all stated reasons (harder to learn, offensive to new and experienced users).
Background color
- Most respondents either prefer white backgrounds (46.7%%) or reported no preference for background color (38.6%). The second most favorite background color was black (5.9%).
- Respondents from the United States were more likely than European respondents to select colors other than white. Respondents aged 10-18 were more likely than other groups to prefer black, while older respondents preferred blue as a second choice for background color.
- Males, intermediate and expert respondents were more likely to prefer white backgrounds, while females were more likely to have no preference and novices were also likely to prefer black and blue.
Computer Experience
- More than 50% of respondents have been using computers for more than 10 years, and another 20% have used computers for 5-10 years.
- On average, European respondents report more years of computer experience than US respondents. A large percentage of male respondents have more than 10 years of computer experience, while the percentage of female respondents was higher in all other experience categories.
- Of all respondents with less than 1 year of computer experience, the largest percentage are over 50 years of age. 10-25 year olds were more likely to have 3-10 years of experience. Respondents over 26 years of age were most likely to have 10+ years of computer experience.
Couldn't learn due to language
- Almost 75% of respondents do not know anyone who could not learn to use either a computer or the Internet because of language difficulties, but that also means that 25% of respondents said yes to either computers, the Internet or both.
- European respondents were more likely to say yes than US respondents. The over 50 age group and intermediate and expert users were also more likely to say yes.
Like audio/sound
- Overall, responses to this question were evenly distributed, although respondents who felt strongly were more likely not to like audio (15.8% vs. 10.0%).
- American respondents tend to like audio more than European respondents (44.3% vs. 23.4%). Men tend to dislike audio more than women (42.7% vs. 29.0%). Although respondents aged 50+ tend to like audio (48.3%), there are no other clear trends by age. Novices tend to like audio (55.9%), while experts tend to dislike it (49.1%).
Like colors
- Overall, responses to this question were evenly distributed - approximately equal numbers of respondents like and dislike colorful web pages.
- American respondents tend to like colorful web pages more than European respondents (42.8% vs. 19.9%); many European respondents had no opinion (32.3%). Men tend to dislike colorful sites more than women (41.8% vs. 28.3%). Although respondents aged 50+ tend to like colorful sites (55.0%), there are no other clear trends by age. Novices tend to like colorful web pages (47.6%), while experts tend to dislike them (47.9%).
Like graphics
- Overall, more respondents tended to like graphics (49.0%) than dislike graphics (32.3%).
- American respondents tend to like graphics more than European respondents (56.2% vs. 34.1%). Men tend to dislike graphics more than women (35.2% vs. 26.2%). Although respondents aged 50+ and 10-18 tend to like graphics (57.3% and 56.1%), there are no other clear trends by age. Intermediate and novice users tend to like graphics (55.7% and 57.2%), while experts tend to dislike graphics (44.2%).
Like text-based web pages
- Overall, responses to this question were evenly distributed, although most respondents did not feel strongly either way.
- European respondents tend to like text-based web pages slightly more than American respondents (39.7% vs. 32.8%). Women tend to dislike text-based pages slightly more than men (40.7% vs. 34.5%). Although younger respondents tend not to like text-based pages, there are no other clear trends by age. Novices and intermediate users tend to dislike text-based web pages (35.4% and 44.0%), while experts tend to like them (42.3%).
Like video
- Overall, responses to this question were evenly distributed, although respndents who felt strongly were more likely not to like video (15.7% vs. 7.5%).
- American respondents tend to like video more than European respondents (37.5% vs. 21.3%). Men were more likely than women to dislike video (43.5% vs. 33.1%). Respondents aged 26-50 and experts tend to most dislike video (45.3% and 50.9%), however, respondents aged 10-18 and novices tend to like video (42.1% and 45.9%).
Link color
- Most respondents either prefer the default blue links (42.8%) or reported no preference for link color (40.5%). The second most favorite link color was red (6.6%).
- Respondents from the United States and females were more likely than European respondents and males to select colors other than blue. Respondents aged 10-18 were more likely than other groups to have a color preference, and respondents aged 50+ preferred black (6.7%) as a second choice for link color.
- Intermediate and expert respondents were more likely to prefer blue links, while novices were also likely to prefer other colors.
Most important problem with unfamiliar language sites
- The problem most frequently selected as being most important is not being able to read the language of web sites (58.8%). Not being able to translate sites (16.4%) and not being able to speak/write the language (7.6%) were second and third most frequent, respectively.
- Only 5.6% of respondents felt that none of the problems listed were imporant.
- Respondents under age 50 were more likely to select not being able to read/understand the site. Novices were more likely to select "None" or not being able to get a translation, while intermediate and expert users were more likely to select not being able to read the language.
Native Language
- The most common native language for the respondents to this questionnaire was English (72.8%). The next most common native languages are: German (4.4%), French (2.9%), Dutch (2.8%), Spanish (2.7%), Swedish (1.8%), Italian (1.6%), Chinese (1.1%), and Finnish (1.1%). A complete listing of the native langages of all respondents is shown in the table.
Non-English Sites
- Most respondents report visiting none (46.3%) or few (44.9%) sites written in languages other than English. Respondents from Europe were more likely to visit non-English sites than respondents from the United States.
- Men are somewhat more likely than women to visit non-English sites frequently (half to most of sites visited). Respondents aged 19-25 and 26-50 are more likely to visit at least a few of these sites than the 10-18 and 50+ age groups.
Primary same as Native
- Most respondents (91.5%) currently speak their native language most of the time. Of those people that answered no, 37% live in the United States, 21% live in Europe, and 42% live elsewhere.
- Respondents in the 26-50 age group were most likely to speak a language other than their native language most of the time (11%).
Problems with unfamiliar language sites
- The four most common problems with unfamiliar language sites are "can't read the language" (77.0%), "can't translate the site" (46.5%), "can't write/speak the language" (37.6%), and "unfamiliar navigation" (30.1%).
- Male respondents and intermediate and expert users were more likely to think navigation is a problem than are females and novices. Respondents over age 50 think navigation is less of a problem than younger respondents.
Provide native language sites
- Overwhelmingly, 77.2% of respondents agree that in order to bring new people to the web, it will be necessary to provide sites in their native/primary languages.
- Most likely to agree with this statement are women (83.1%), Europeans (80.5%), and younger respondents - 10-18 (82.5%) and 19-25 (80.8%). Most likely to disagree are men (12.4%) and Americans (12.9%).
Provide translations of web sites
- Overwhelmingly, respondents feel that organizations should provide multiple language translations of their web sites (by more than 5:1). The most commonly selected reason is that these translations are useful.
- European respondents were more likely to say yes than US respondents. Respondents aged 19-50 were more likely to have an opinion than younger and older respondents.
Fluency in Reading
- Since a majority of this survey's non-US respondents are from Europe, it's not surprising that European languages (French, German, Spanish, Italian) are the most commonly understood (in addition to English). (It's also not surprising that most respondents are literate in English, since answering the survey requires some level of fluency in English.)
Response to web site in unfamiliar language
- In general, the most common responses to a site in an unfamiliar language are to look for a link to a translated version (28.1%), to review the page briefly (27.3%), and to attempt to interpret the page (24.4%). Respondents rarely make an effort to translate sites (by asking another person, or by using translation software).
- Respondents from the United States, older respondents and novices are most likely to exit the site immediately (21.5%, 34.8%, 28.4%, respectively). Experts and younger respondents are more likely to attempt to interpret the site (30% and 26%), and Europeans (34%) to look for links to translated versions of the site. Men are more likely to stay at a site in an unfamiliar language than are women.
Sites designed for culture
- The groups most likely to say that culturally sensitive web site design would lead to greater use of the web are novices (55.9%), older users (60.7%), women (51.7%), and respondents from the United States (52.3%).
- This question was also asked in Survey 7, but the wording was slightly different, which may have contributed to differences in survey results. In this survey, the question asks if culturally sensitive design would make the respondent more willing to use the web. In the last survey, the question asked if culturally sensitive design would make others in their country more willing to use the web.
(7th Survey Results for this question)
Sites in non-fluent language
- Most respondents report visiting none (52.8%) or few (42.7%) sites written in languages in which they are not fluent.
- Women are somewhat more likely than men to visit at least a few sites in "foreign languages"(46.9% vs. 40.6%). Respondents aged 19-25 (44.5%) and 26-50 (42.9%) are more likely to visit a few of these sites than the 10-18 (33.3%) and 50+ (36.0%) age groups.
Language Display Software
- Most respondents (93.0%) have access to software that displays web pages in the character set of their native language, however only 50.4% use it. The other 42.6% either don't know how to use it, or don't need to use it. (This question will be investigated in future surveys.)
- Although older respondents are more likely to have access to this type of software, younger respondents are more likely to use it (either because they want to or because they can).
- Expert respondents are most likely to have access to and use this software. Novices are least likely to be able to get the software.
Fluency in Speaking
- Since a majority of this survey's non-US respondents are from Europe, it's not surprising that European languages (French, German, Spanish, Italian) are the most frequently spoken (in addition to English). (It's also not surprising that most respondents speak at least conversational English, since answering the survey requires some level of fluency in English.)
Wouldn't learn due to culture
- Almost 85% of respondents do not know anyone who would not learn to use either a computer or the Internet because of cultural objections, but that also means that 15% of respondents said yes to either computers, the Internet or both.
- European respondents were slightly more likely to say yes than US respondents. The 26-50 age group and expert users were also slightly more likely to say yes.
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GVU's WWW Surveying Team |