Joint Survey of the Israel Internet Association and the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs reveals the Internet habits and sentiments of the Haredi (Ultra Orthodox) population in Israel.
The survey was conducted using telephone interviews to gather data from a sample of 795 respondents from various factions of the ultra orthodox population in Israel, using a standardized questionnaire to ask the respondents a set of predetermined questions.
Characteristics of Internet Use Among Haredim – Noteworthy Findings
Around 80% of the survey’s participants reported using the internet in their daily lives. The survey found, that the most common medium for internet use is the home computer or tablet (40.4%), the next common medium is the workplace computer (35.5%), then the mobile phone (14.7%), and the remainder is distributed between public internet spots that can be used for a fee, public tablet terminals in synagogues and government service terminals.
The survey found significant gender-correlated differences pertaining to the use of various devices for internet access: Haredi women use home or work computers and mobile phones for internet access more often than Haredi men, and Haredi men use internet spots for a fee and public tablet terminals in synagogues more often than Haredi women. No gender differences were found in internet use at government service terminals.
Significant differences were observed between various Haredi communities in terms of the characteristics of their internet use: Lithuanian Haredim are connected to and use the internet more commonly than Sephardic and Hasidic Haredim. About 84% of Lithuanian Haredim use the internet, compared to 74% of Sephardim. Sephardim use the internet on their mobile phones more than other groups (around 20% as opposed to 13% of Lithuanians and around 11% of Hasidim). Lithuanian Haredim more commonly use a home computer or tablet (around 53% as opposed to 36% of Sephardim and around 29% of Hasidim).
Email use
Use of Filtering Software (“Kosher Internet”)
About half of the survey participants who said they employ filtering software to restrict their content consumption on the internet (“Kosher Internet”) said that they use the company “Net Free” to filter their home internet cable connection. This software is considered the most stringent and restrictive.
The vast majority of the respondents who have a filtered internet connection reported that they were not interested in unlocking access to services that are currently blocked by their existing filtering software.
Haredi Concerns Regarding Internet Use
Over 80% of participants responded that they worry about becoming addicted to the internet, and worry that it will lead them to waste time. 76% of participants responded that they worry that internet use could compromise their children’s values-education and 62% worry that it could compromise their way of life. Only 34% expressed concern that internet use might hurt marriageability and acceptance to educational institutions.
Knowledge And Literacy Barriers In Internet Usage
Capabilities to Perform Different Actions On The Internet
For the complete data and analysis (in Hebrew) – Click Here