Gaming and social networking sites now top the list on Internet search results
Gaming and social networking sites now top the list on Internet search results
Here's the bad news. Porn is no longer the in thing. Believe it or not, the undisputed numero uno destination of Internet surfers has in fact been displaced by gaming and social networking sites. And it doesn't look like it's going to win back its position anytime soon!
An all-India study conducted by IMRB suggests that youngsters and working professionals are more interested in social networking rather than surfing porn. The main reason behind the drift is that of late all free porn sites are loaded with Trojans, viruses and tend to crash the hard drives.
Tech experts feel that youngsters have outgrown porn and are now putting the Internet to more meaningful use. Mehul Gupta, associate vice-president, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI), feels that social networking sites are meeting grounds for youngsters and a great place to exchange information and break the ice.
Also the gaming sites, especially multiplayer games increase the sense of competitiveness in the young minds and they get hooked for long hours rather than surfing porn.
Rajeev Vaishnav, a tech wizard, said, "We are, in fact, what we click, with Internet searches giving an up to date view of how society and people are changing."
Porn will be back
However, Vijay Mukhi, president Foundation for Information Security & Technology (FIST), disagrees with the views expressed by the experts. He believes that despite an increase in the number of gamers and social networking site surfers, porn will remain the favourite destination for many Internet users irrespective of age. He added that many users don't publicly admit to visiting porn sites.
Leisure on the net
Balendu Shrivastava, group business director, eTech division of Indian Market Research Bureau (international) said, "Internet users have started utilising Internet not merely for information search or communication but also for leisure activities."
The study has revealed that Mumbai tops the chart with approximately 4.5 million active Internet users, followed byu00a0 Chennai 3 million, Delhi approximately 2 million, and Bangalore and Kolkata with approximately 1 million each.
The recent survey is based on the study conducted across 30 cities, including major metros, amongst 20,000 households, 90,000 individuals, 1,000 SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and 500 cyber cafes.
Surfing stats
E-mail and chat: 91%
Info search: 76%
Education search: 49%
Gaming: 41%
Porn: 3-4%
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