More than half of Brazilians access the internet via cell phone, but only 37% check information

This number rises to 51% on the general average and to 74% among users who connect through more than one device, such as a computer.

For the first time, the survey investigated the digital skills of internet users, regardless of the device used to access the network. Until then, the research only assessed the skills of those who used a desktop or notebook.

There are 92 million Brazilians accessing the internet only via cell phone, a use considered quite limited, according to experts. Another fact that draws attention is the low fact checking by those who receive information via cell phone.

“In general, in all digital skills investigated by the ICT Households survey, better results were found among internet users who access the network through multiple devices than among those who access exclusively via cell phone”, assesses research coordinator Fabio Storino, information analyst at Cetic.br and NIC.br, in response to Agency Brazil.

The same happens in relation security measures, such as strong passwords or two-step verification, to protect devices and accounts: only 33% of those who access the network exclusively via cell phone adopted these measures. Among users of multiple devices, this percentage rises to 69%.

Disinformation: serious problem in Brazil

Fabio Storino highlights that this scenario can directly impact the country's development, both in relation to the digital transformation that is taking place, and in relation to the depth of misinformation among the population.

“In the specific case of verifying information online using a cell phone, there are limitations linked to both the device itself and the data plan associated with it: according to TIC Domicílios, 64% of individuals who have a cell phone have a prepaid plan. For many of these users, the consumption of news that arrives via the messaging app is limited to the information that appears there (title, subtitle, photo) and there is not enough mobile data to open the full article. This certainly has impacts for these users and for society as a whole, as we have seen in recent years”, he adds.

Cell phones were fundamental in increasing internet access in Brazil, and are currently used by 99% of web users in the country.

Characteristics of internet users on cell phones, according to the survey

The new edition of the survey reveals that internet use only via cell phone is predominant:

• among women (64%),
• between blacks (63%) and browns (67%),
• among those belonging to classes D and E (84%).

In total, the country reached the mark of 149 million internet users, of which 142 million access the network every day or almost every day.

Another 7 million have lower frequencies of use and there are an estimated 36 million people who do not have access to the internet.

TIC Domicílios is a face-to-face sampling survey carried out with 20.688 individuals aged 10 or over and in 23.292 households across the country. The collection period was from June to October 2022. The research is carried out by the Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Ponto BR Information and Coordination Center (NIC.br).

(Source: Agência Brasil)

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