84% of households in the UK with access to the internet had a broadband connection in 2007 and increase from the previous year’s figure of 69%. London was again the area with the highest level of broadband internet access and internet access (60%). Northern Ireland remained the area with the lowest level with broadband and internet access (40%)
This graph shows the percentage of households in the UK that has access to the internet. As you can see the percentage has steadily increased over 4 years. This is because of the increase of the use of ICT and it shows how dependant people are now with the internet. The percentage has increased by 14% over 4 years.
From this graph I can see that access to the internet has increased steadily over 4 years. This is because more and more people are using the internet to buy goods, communicate via social networking sites such as MSN and they can attach documents via email instead of printing them off. However there are still people that would rather not use a computer because they feel they cannot use ICT and it is far easier to use old fashioned ways such as writing out documents. Some people do not even dream about using the internet in some cases they do not have their own access at home and have to use other facilities such as schools and libraries. The figures on the graph show this. Although 61% sounds a high percentage there are still 39% of households that do not have access to the internet because they either refuse to use ICT or they cannot afford it.
This graph shows the percentages of households in Great Britain with different types of ICT. The biggest rise has come from the DVD player rising from 30% in 2002/03 to 80% in 2005/06. Also the mobile phone, home computer and internet access have all increased rapidly over the space of a decade and this just shows the growth in ICT and it show how individuals in the UK are dependant on ICT in their everyday lives.
Access to the Internet around the world
Across the world the ICT is widely used. Many continents have access to the Internet. In some cases countries such as Japan and South Korea are world leaders in digital technology and many people have access to the Internet there.
This graph shows that Asia has the highest percentage of Internet users with 37% of the world’s population using the Internet. Europe is the continent with the second highest percentage of Internet users with 27% of the world’s population using the Internet. In contrast Africa, the Middle East and Australia and Oceania are the continents with the lowest percentages of Internet users ranging from 3-1% of the world’s population using the Internet in these continents. There could be many factors in explaining the amount of Internet users in these continents e.g. people in other continents can not afford ICT or they do not
Have access to ICT and the Internet. In the poorer continents such as Africa and the Middle East they might not have access to the Internet because they could not afford ICT or are not offered the facilities to access the Internet. Australia and Oceania would not have that many people using the Internet because it is a large continent but with a small percentage of the world’s population. Many people would have Internet access in the cities but in the outback there would be a small amount of the population living out there with no facilities for miles.
This graph is similar to the pie chart but this shows that the continent with largest amount of internet users are Asia with 462 billion people and the continent with the fewest internet users are Australia and Oceania with only 19 million people using the internet out of 1262 million making up the Internet users around the world.
ICT in Organisations
ICT is an important factor now in organisations across the world. ICT is important for communication within organisations for example sending emails and having a website for the organisation. An organisation can also have many files including financial details and perhaps customer details. Organisations can store this sort of information within a database and they can also have many word processed files. From this you can see that ICT is very important within an organisation and it is a very important factor contributing to the structure of the organisation. ICT can have a great affect on an organisation. It can cut costs and can allow the organisation to function more efficiently and quickly. ICT can help with documents and communication and is faster than the traditional ways.
This graph shows how ICT has affected businesses within the UK. 7 in 10 businesses have a website. This statistic shows how much businesses now rely on ICT to function and make income. This graph also shows that 90% of businesses in the UK have PC workstations and this shows the importance of ICT within a business.
This graph shows the comparison between households in the UK and the EU that have broadband and internet access and Enterprises in the UK and the EU that have broadband and internet access. As you can see from the graph internet access and broadband within Enterprises are very high with 90% of Enterprises in the UK and the EU having these features. This is evidence for how much Enterprises within the UK and the EU are dependant on the internet and how important ICT is.
In conclusion ICT is now apart of everyday life for individuals and organisations. It is an important factor. And is a very useful and efficient for creating documents such as letters and posters. It is very much quicker than the traditional methods, which will be extinguished eventually. More and more people are now using ICT at home whether for work or leisure and the statistics show this. The world is moving into a digital age and is far less reliant on the traditional values. Mail can now be sent through email instead of through the post which is very time consuming. Organisations also use ICT more than ever to function. ICT allows data to be stored and documents to be printed and is cost effective and more reliable and faster.
Overall I believe that the impact of availability of electronic information on individuals and society is massive and there is no looking back. The world is entering the digital age and technology will develop to make lives easier and Organisations will become even more reliant on ICT just as individuals at home and society as a whole.
Bibliography of Sources
The graphs and charts that I have used in this report are from the following websites:
