As of now, the vast majority of Internet users in China are male, under 30, and urban dwellers, and two thirds are students or business workers. While there’s room to grow in urban areas, among the older citizenry and with women, the real test of the Internet’s impact on Chinese society will be when it reaches into rural areas.

Just three percent of rural China has Internet access, with peasants and farmers accounting for only 0.4 percent of Internet users. Though many of them cite not being able to afford Internet access, others cite lack of time. But a significant number cite lack of computer skills or lack of interest altogether.

Around ten percent in both rural and urban areas cited lack of need or interest – which, as a reminder, still amounts some 100 million people. And those with lack of interest may stay uninterested.

The author of Pew’s study, researcher Deborah Fallows, quotes a farmer in Shandong province: “To us farmers, a computer is no different from an aircraft carrier, because neither has a bearing on our life.”

Many are expecting the mobile industry to change all that. Rural mobile phone subscribers numbered 53 million last year, upping the total number of China Mobile subscribers to 300 million.

Though prices for computers are dropping, it most likely will be phones that connects China to the World Wide Web.

Impact

As China is increasingly wired, economic, social, political and linguistic change is expected. Business will thrive, it will be harder for the Chinese government to police the flow of information the way it does now, relations between the industrialized democratic nations will be strained, and the Chinese language may become more unified.

What does that mean for the language of the Web? Fallows is unsure:

Some experts suggested that English would remain dominant; others said that language dominance might shift to another language, like Chinese; others thought that a few languages would share a big online presence.

Study authors John Horrigan and Lee Rainie called the increase in the Internet’s role various life aspects over 2002 findings “striking.”

Over a three-year period, Internet use grew by:

54% in the number of adults who said the Internet played a major role as they helped another person cope with a major illness. And the number of those who said the Internet played a major role as they coped themselves with a major illness increased 40%.

50% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they pursued more training for their careers.

45% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they made major investment or financial decisions.

43% in the number who said the Internet played a major role when they looked for a new place to live.

42% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they decided about a school or a college for themselves or their children.

23% in the number who said the Internet played a major role when they bought a car.

14% in the number who said the Internet played a major role as they switched jobs.

For the vast majority (53 million people), the Internet most likely played a crucial role in five categories – buying a car, making a major financial decision, helping someone deal with a major health matter, choosing a college, or getting additional career training.

As usage has increased, especially in decision-making and research, the quality of found information has often come in question. But according to the study, just 5% said they encountered bad information during research sessions.

And what about information overload? Only 15% said they sometimes felt overwhelmed by the amount of information they had access to, 71% felt it was manageable, and 11% can’t find the totality of information they seek.

Horrigan and Rainie suggest that the steady increase in broadband usage is only one factor in the increase in decision-making behavior on the Web. Though home broadband use has jumped to 50% of American homes, the researchers think that better online content and more widely advertised websites have also driven people to Internet sources.

In addition, Horrigan and Rainie feel that there may also be a network effect as more people seek out other people to help with decisions and learn about websites through word of mouth.

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