Forget the singles bar – Israelis’ mates await online, says study
First comprehensive study of local Internet usage shows digital devices having a major impact on leisure, commerce, marriage
Israeli telecom giant Bezeq has documented the changing ways Israelis match up, revealing that about a third of Israelis who met their significant others during 2014 met them online. Five years ago, 39% of Israelis met their intendeds in the army, university, or workplace, while 37% were matched up by friends and family members. Today, only 17% meet in the army or workplace, while barely a quarter get together through the recommendations of friends.
The change in marriage and dating habits is just one of many highlighted in a new study by Bezeq, Israel’s largest communications company. It’s Bezeq’s first – and, according to the company, the most comprehensive ever by anyone – study of Internet usage in Israel, and the results show the World Wide Web having a world-changing impact on the mores and manners of Israelis.
The poll, conducted by veteran pollster Dr. Mina Tzemach, was based on a sample of members of i-Panel, which claims to represent a cross-section of Israeli Internet users from all segments of society, communities, and ages. The poll included a representative sample that sought to include a wide range of Israelis, including those from the Arab, ultra-Orthodox, and religious communities, as well as among children as young as six.
The poll confirmed a number of widely-held beliefs about Internet usage and exploded several others. Among the findings in the latter category: Some 40% of Israelis of all ages have made new real-life friends over the Internet, a number, said Bezeq, that contradicts an oft-cited worry of social scientists that the Internet isolates heavy users from real-life relationships. It’s just the opposite, the report says; the Internet can be as much an engine of promoting relationships as other offline venues.
A belief that was confirmed – in spades – relates to the Internet taking a greater proportion of leisure time activity. Internet usage now accounts for 45% of Israelis’ downtime among 18-34 year olds, with TV watching, reading books, and “other” (including physical activity) accounting for 12% each.
And TV and movie watching has emerged as a major Internet activity for Israelis. Overall, 63% said that the Internet was their chief source for TV or movies, while 75% had watched at least one TV show or film online or via a download during 2014. In the past three months, 40% of those polled said they watched television shows or saw films online, the same percentage who watched that content on satellite or cable TV. During that period, however, only 13% said they went to the movies, and 7% said they saw films on DVD.
Perhaps even more troubling for content producers is that most of that web TV and movie watching was done by downloading files for free from the plethora of pirate content sites that furnish high-quality copies of the latest television and film hits within hours of their release. Of the three quarters who had watched commercial content online or via a download, only 5% paid for the privilege.
The “online freebie” syndrome extends to computer programs and mobile apps. According to the study, the average Israeli pays for only one out of every 32 apps or programs they download. However, the study noted, that includes apps that can be installed for free, most often based on a freemium model, with basic services provided at no charge and advanced functions for an extra fee. If nothing else, that particular statistic showed how online models of making money changed over the past decade, when the large majority (nearly three quarters) of apps and programs were sold.
While the Internet has upended TV as a source of entertainment, television still has an important role to play – for information about politics. Sixty-three percent of Israelis still rely on articles and interviews in print newspapers and on TV to make up their mind on political issues, making “old media” by far the dominant factor in political decision-making. With that, one third of Israelis said that they followed politicians (those they liked and those they didn’t) on social media. Digital books have also not yet taken off in Israel; only 31% here read books and magazines on their tablets or computers.
Over five and a half million Israelis use the Internet daily, with that number growing daily, said Bezeq. The average Israeli household has five connected devices, and the favorite app of connected Israelis is, by a wide margin, communications app WhatsApp. Currently, 70% of Israelis – 86% of Tel Aviv area residents – listed WhatsApp as the mobile app they use the most. In second place is traffic app Waze, which 57% said was vital for daily use. Facebook is far less popular; only 32% of Israelis said they couldn’t do without the social network, a falloff from the 37% who declared it necessary for daily communications in July 2013.
Earlier this year, the government relaxed some of the rules on Internet shopping and shipping, and the move seems to have had the desired effect. More Israelis bought online in 2014, with appliances and electronics the most popular products; 28% of those who bought televisions, refrigerators, cameras, music players, and other similar appliances and devices bought them from an Israeli site (6% bought them from a site outside Israel).
Israelis prefer to buy items such as clothing and books offline, with over 80% of those purchases made in stores. The most popular online purchase for Israelis is in the tourism sector; 80% bought plane tickets and made hotel or car reservations online, with only 20% using travel agents for their vacations. Online banking has yet to take off, as well; 75% of Israelis said they have not used their mobile devices or desktops to conduct bank business.
But that, along with other metrics, is likely to change as the Internet revolution advances even further, said Stella Handler, CEO of Bezeq. “The Internet is having a profound effect on Israeli life, and the rate of change is intensifying. Our report shows that Israelis’ use of social media and online entertainment is having a significant impact on existing platforms, while in other areas such as online commerce, Israel is still finding its way. Living in the digital era is a challenge for all of us. We hope that this report will provide data that individuals, businesses, and governments can use to learn how to cope with the digital era and help provide tools to deal with it.”
