Values and attitudes are important factors that influence people’s behaviour. By the same token, people’s behaviours also form their values and attitudes, especially with regards to newly emerging things. People do not yet fully understand newly emerging things and so they come to understand them gradually through contact with them. This process causes people’s values and attitudes to be imperceptibly influenced by these newly emerging things. As a kind of interactive media, information channel and life platform, the internet is particularly worth researching when it comes to how it affects people’s values.

 

In this survey, we used the Likert scale to measure 6 types of indicators of netizens’ values related to the internet. The overall results are in the chart below.

 

Type	Statement	Approval Rate
Life Aide	Without the internet, I cannot work or study.	39.0%
	Without the internet, my entertainment life is boring.	59.1%
	The internet reduces the amount of matters I have to physically attend to.	69.3%
Information Channel	I usually see important news on the internet first.	61.8%
	When I have a question, I look on the internet for an answer first.	64.6%
Contact Tool	I met many new friends on the internet.	65.4%
	The internet strengthens my connection with my friends.	82.5%
Social Isolation	I feel very lonely in the internet age.	19.9%
	The internet has reduced the amount of time I can spend with my family.	29.0%
Internet Trust and Safety	The registration information I enter on the internet is genuine.	47.5%
	It is safe to make transactions on the internet.	27.6%
Social Participation	The internet is the main place that I express my opinion.	41.9%
	After using the internet I pay more attention to social events.	76.9%

 

Overall, netizens’ level of agreement with the statements about using the internet as an information channel and contact tool was relatively high and the value of the internet as a life aide is becoming clearer. However, netizens’ trust of the internet and feeling of safety on the internet was relatively low. This is probably one of the main factors as to why the Chinese internet economy is relatively small. Along with the internet being used more in peoples’ lives, the internet has gradually given people a sense of distance (here called “social isolation”).

 

Different internet usage groups also expressed different levels of agreement with the measured lifestyle statements.

The online social group valued the internet as a contact tool more. The self-display group had a relatively high level of agreement with statements on social isolation and expressing opinions via the internet. The internet-dependent group and internet business group had a relatively high level of agreement with statements on internet trust and safety. The behaviour of these two groups with regards to e-business applications is noticeable. The internet dependent group’s level of the agreement with statements about using the internet as a life aide and information channel was also relatively high.

 

 

The intensity of usage of the internet can be measured in different ways. For example, it can be measured by the amount of time spent online, the number of internet applications used, how long a user has been using the internet, the frequency with which a netizen goes online, etc. Here we mainly base our analysis on the amount of time spent online and the number of internet applications used. Overall, for each lifestyle aspect, as the intensity of internet usage increases, the rate of approval rises. “Trust and safety,” “social isolation” – these two lifestyle factors are of wide interest to the public. Below, we introduce the level of agreement with statements in these two lifestyle statement categories based on intensity of internet usage.

 

We previously pointed out that netizens do not have a high level of agreement with regards to the “trust and safety” of the internet. However, as the intensity of internet usage increases, the level of agreement with the trust and safety statements also increases somewhat. This is mainly because netizens are becoming more and more proficient at using the internet and they are getting better and better at distinguishing and avoiding online threats. Skillful netizens are able to effectively avoid online dangers and unsafe elements of the internet so they have a higher level of agreement with the trust and safety statements. Less skillful netizens do not have the ability to recognize or avoid online traps. After hearing of cases involving internet dangers, their level of agreement with the internet trust and safety statements is on the low side.

 

Social isolation: as the intensity of internet usage increases, netizens' concern that the internet may produce social isolation increases. Using television as an example, television entered the lives of most Chinese people in the 80s. Television addiction resulted in many negative effects on society, such as alienation from family members, a decrease in time management, too much entertainment, etc. These negative effects caused some sociologists to call for people to “turn off the TV.” Along with the more widespread and intense usage of the internet and the continuing rise of internet addiction, the internet may very well become the next thing to trouble mankind.