BBC: 69 percent Indians can live without net
By Bala Shah

The BBC has a proud tradition of free and fearless reporting.  Before the liberalization of their economy and media, many Indians relied on BBC to tell them what was happening in their own country.  So, when BBC published a report ‘Four in Five Regard Internet Access as a Fundamental Right’, Indian media lapped it up.

The BBC poll conducted by GlobeScan found that Four in five adults (79%) regard internet access as their fundamental right.  According to BBC the poll was held among 27,000 people in 26 countries.

More than seven in ten (71%) non-internet users also felt that they should have the right to access the web. Countries where very high proportions regarded internet access as their fundamental right included South Korea (96%), Mexico (94%), and China (87%).  Most web users are very positive about the changes the internet has brought to their lives, with strong support for the information available, the greater freedom it brings and social networking. However there was caution about expressing opinions online and fraud. Nearly four in five (78%) said they felt it had brought them greater freedom, nine in ten (90%) said they thought it was a good place to learn, and just over half (51%) said they now enjoyed spending their spare time on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace.

The Poll results about India said: “Indian web users feel the internet is a safe place to express opinions—70 per cent agree this is the case, a rate much higher than average (48%), and higher than in any other Asian country surveyed. Indian web users, like those in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are enthusiastic users of social networking sites: 67 per cent of Indian respondents agree they enjoy sites like Facebook or MySpace. As with internet users in Pakistan, those in India have faith in the internet as a good place to find a romantic partner (59% agree as compared to the average of only 30%). Indian users are less likely than average to say they are dependent on the internet (69% agree they could cope without it), or to agree the internet is a fundamental right (61%). On these aspects they are similar to their Pakistani neighbours.”

The Poll results about Pakistan were equally interesting: “Dependence on the internet appears to be less pronounced in Pakistan than elsewhere. Of web users in this country, 79 per cent agree they could cope without the internet. In this they are similar to Filipino users (also 79%). They are much less likely than average to agree the internet has increased their freedom (55%), or that it is a fundamental right (46%). Pakistani users, like those in the Philippines, are more likely than others to cite access to music and films as the aspect they most value about the internet—22 per cent do so, compared to 12 per cent of the total sample.  As with Indian users, those in Pakistan are much more likely to agree that the internet is a good place to find a romantic partner (60%) and—like their counterparts in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines—Pakistani respondents find the internet to be a safe place for expressing opinions (58% agree)”.

But if you zoom into the poll methodology, you will notice that while it can be labeled credible, it is definitely not comprehensive.  For example, 1000 people were interviewed in Australia which has a population of 22 million people.  To get the views of a billion plus Indians (of which about 70 million use the internet), BBC interviewed only 1000 Indians. For some reason best known to BBC, 2000 Pakistani’s were interviewed to get the views of that country.   What is the logic in such sampling?

According to the BBC poll, 69 percent of Indian net users say they can cope without the internet.  Apparently, 79 percent of Pakistani net users can also do without internet. Can 7 of the 10 net users you know (even with six degrees of separation) live without the internet?  This research fact does not make sense to me.

But because it was a BBC poll, every major Indian TV station and newspaper in India and Pakistan reported the fact that four in five believe the internet is a fundamental right.  No one really zoomed into the methodology or sampling.  If 1000 Aussies can speak for their entire country, BBC feels that 1000 Indians can speak for our country.

According to this BBC poll, Indians use Facebook and MySpace.  No mention of Orkut which eclipses MySpace in India.

But because it is the BBC, their press release was published this week as fact in India.