Variance by Household Income and Type

Higher income households attribute significantly higher levels of importance to household Internet access than lower income households. However, as observed by age group, importance attributed is closely related to experience using the technology. Lowest income households, who have used the Internet in the past three months, attribute significantly greater importance to household access than their income group on whole [Table 6c].

• 87 per cent of highest income Canadians ($100K or more) view the Internet as “highly important” to “essential”, 5 to 7 on a 7-point scale.
• 49 per cent of lowest income Canadians (less than $20K) report the same.
• The number of lowest income Canadians, who view household access as “highly important” to “essential”, 5 to 7 on a 7-point scale, jumps to 75 per cent for those who have used the Internet in the past three months.

Variance by Household Type

As indicated by quantitative and qualitative usage data there is a strong relationship between the presence of children in the household and the perceived importance of household Internet access [Table 6c].

• 36 per cent of couples with children believe that household access is “essential”, 7 on a 7-point scale. An additional 40 per cent indicate household access is “highly important”, 5 to 6 on a 7-point scale.
• High importance attributed by those residing in “unrelated adults” households is likely related to the lower average age of these households.