Increased use of the Internet is leading to a more politically engaged and socially inclusive society, according to the latest ANUpoll.

The report shows that far from increasing social isolation because users are in front of a computer screen, the Internet is actually having a positive effect on civil society.

In the lead up to the roll out of the National Broadband Network, the report takes a snapshot of Internet usage in Australia. Some of the findings from ANUpoll include:

  • Frequent Internet use is helping people with social interaction. For example, 54 per cent of respondents said that the Internet helped them interact with people from other countries.
  • Increased Internet usage is not leading to a more individualistic society. For example, 70 per cent of those who use the Internet more than once a day felt that to be a good citizen it was very important to support people who are worse off than themselves.
  • Around one third of respondents say that the Internet has helped them interact with people of a different race from their own, and half of respondents say the Internet has helped them interact with people from other countries.
  • Around one in four respondents said they have visited the websites of political organisations or candidates, and one in five said they had forwarded electronic messages with political content.
  • A total of 82 per cent of respondents have broadband access, and two-thirds say they use the Internet at least once a day.