Measuring Internet usage: The Israeli case

The article describes two instruments for measuring Internet Usage and the changes in subjects’ Internet usage following a controlled intervention. It focuses on the use of usage and lack of usage for measuring the digital gap. The “digital gap” is defined as the gap between individuals with and without access to technology (telephones, computers, Internet access) and related services. Since its emergence, the Internet has become the most important form of information and communication technology (ICT).The goal of the present research was to develop ways of measuring Internet usage for different segments of the Israeli population (it can also be used to measure Internet usage outside Israel). For the past few years, the Israeli government has sponsored programs designed to increase Internet usage in specific segments of the Israeli population. Some of these programs have been “controlled programs”. Controlled Internet Usage Programs are planned and monitored programs, which use research methods to discover whether they have increased Internet usage and changed Internet habits.The population of Internet users in Israel is presently 45.8% (compared with 68.2% in the US population). The past 5 years has witnessed a significant rise in the number of Internet users in the West in general and in Israel specifically: an increase of 152% in the number of Israeli households connected to the Internet during the period 2000–2005.However, large differences are apparent between the stronger and weaker sections of the Israeli population where the Internet is concerned, and controlled intervention is therefore a very important means of reducing these discrepancies.The present article describes two measurement instruments: the first instrument examines on-line proficiency, while the second determines patterns of Internet use and the status of respondents’ “Internet awareness”.The instruments were built to determine the reduction in the digital divide associated with Internet usage following controlled intervention, and the population's Internet usage status before and after intervention. The difference between the two measurements represents the increase or decrease in Internet usage.These two instruments may be used by agencies making decisions about resource disbursement to reduce the digital divide in a variety of populations.