Developed markets ‘less positive towards personal tech’

Most internet users surveyed believed that personal technology is “making the world a better place”: majorities in all 12 countries said they were able to find more affordable products ( 74%), while innovation in business ( 72%) and starting new businesses ( 68%) were also positive points, as well as education ( 67%) and productivity ( 65%).

However, 52% of all respondents were concerned about privacy; a five point jump since last year’s survey. India was the only country surveyed where a majority did not express negativity around this aspect of personal technology.

But the biggest divergence was around trust in the media: while respondents in developing countries believed by a margin of 2:1 that personal technology has had a mostly positive effect on trust in the media, those in developed countries thought, by the same margin, that the effect was mostly negative.

People in developing countries were also more optimistic about personal technology’s effect on social bonds: 60% felt that it had a personal effect compared to just 36% in developed markets.

The survey gathered views from 12,002 internet users across 12 markets: France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, US, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and Turkey.