Who goes online? Evidence of internet use patterns from rural Greece

Abstract

This paper attempts to reveal the heterogeneity of Internet users in rural areas. Who is really using the Internet? Is it the farmer or other members of the rural family? Can rural areas be seen as a homogenous space or do different types of Internet users exist? Research is based on both the descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis techniques on a sample of 920 individuals in three administrative regions of rural Greece. Basic findings suggest that less than one out of three rural residents go online. A set of perceived potentials and pitfalls of Internet use are analyzed. Social networking and e-mail are the principal uses of the Internet, classifying users into three distinct types. For “basic users”, Internet access is influenced by income and gender while the “socially interactive users” are influenced by the existence of a young member in the family. For “farm oriented users”, Internet access is influenced by the digital divide between rural and urban location and by farmers' competency. The typology of users along with their perceptions regarding Internet use can provide useful policy insights on the ways that Internet access can contribute to diffusion of innovation and rural development.