Key findings

  • Eighty percent of Germans and nearly all people under 30 (98 percent) are online. But many think that the Internet is not transparent in terms of security and data protection.
    • The terms “data protection” and “data security” are confused or used almost interchangeably.
    • Half of respondents say they lack information on what they personally can do to protect their data.
    • A full one-third of onliners acknowledge: “I’d be lost in the Internet if my friends and acquaintances didn’t help me out.”
  • 39 percent of Germany’s population is troubled by the issue of security and data protection on the Internet and feel uncertain as a result.
  • Half of the population strongly believes one thing: Absolute online security cannot and will not be achieved. But one-third of the population thinks it is possible.
  • One new aspect has become more significant than the (gradually fading) “digital boundary” separating onliners and offliners. This is the mentality boundary that has arisen between various types of users and their (subjective) Internet competence – depending on their respective attitude toward security and their risk behavior.
  • Security is a question of attitude: Imagined competence can play just as important a role in decisions related to the acceptance of risk as the use of security software can.
  • The subjective feeling of security increases as a person’s own experience with the Internet grows.
  • This means that the lack of technical familiarity about the Internet is more frequently a reason for avoiding specific Internet activities than security concerns are.
  • To provide systematic education about and understanding of the issue as well as to assess the expectations and concerns that exist about the Internet, seven different Internet milieus (types of attitudes and behavior) were identified – each with different lifestyles, various levels of access to the Internet and attitudes about trust and security on the Internet (see the overview on the following page).
  • Nearly 60 percent of Germany’s population thinks responsibility for security and data protection on the Internet primarily rests with companies and/or the government, which should create the necessary conditions.
  • This desire to delegate responsibility results, on the one hand, from ignorance and a feeling of being overwhelmed (Digital Outsiders: 39 percent) and, on the other hand, from skepticism about the current approach (Digital Immigrants: 20 percent).
  • A latent feeling of mistrust of the system even exists among those users, who consider themselves to be self-confident navigators on the Internet and explicitly assume responsibility for their Internet activities.

Brief description of the seven Internet milieus

The measures needed to achieve further trust and security depend on attitudes, experiences and expectations regarding the medium: One measure by itself does not help. Rather, diverse courses of action tailored to the respective needs of individual target groups must be employed.

  • Individuals who have grown up with the Internet tend to underestimate the medium’s dangers and risks as a result of their familiarity with it.
    • In particular, Carefree Hedonists act recklessly and rashly online, also because they spend little time reflecting on the consequences of their actions.
    • Even though they are highly aware of the problems, the Digital Vanguard and Efficiency- oriented Performers tend to underestimate the growing dangers and risks, also and precisely because of their high level of Internet skills.
    • Responsibility-driven Individuals and Post-material Skeptics have a fundamental understanding of the problems and an increased awareness of risk as a result.
    • A distant attitude exists among the group of Order-seeking Internet Laymen and the Internet Wary, created by their lack of experience with the medium and a general lack of familiarity with it. As a result, many Internet services are not used by these groups.
  • Given these findings, the issue of trust and security on the Internet becomes a pressing socio-political matter. The aim must be to eliminate the barriers and concerns as well as to offer programs and services that provide or have the potential to provide increased security.
  • Efficiency-oriented Performers and the Digital Vanguard can serve as the central target group for the issue of trust and security on the Internet. On the one hand, they are affected to the greatest degree by the security risks as a result of their intensive use of the Internet. On the other hand, they are key messengers who can raise the awareness level about the issue among other groups. They play the role of a guide, particularly for inexperienced Internet users, and act as important points of contact about appropriate ways to use the medium.
  • At the same time, a liberal, individualist attitude is widely found among both of these groups – just as it is among Carefree Hedonists. Digital Natives have very little understanding for the problems of inexperienced Internet users: It is up to the user, above all, to assume responsibility for his or her online activities (self-responsibility principle). For this reason, it is necessary to help Digital Natives realize that not everyone has the same level of “Internet expertise” as they do and are thus subject to higher risks and dangers under certain circumstances.

The graphic on the following page shows the types found in the Sinus-Milieus® study with the two main axes reflecting fundamental values (horizontal) and social situation (vertical). Within this socio- cultural context, the seven types are positioned in accordance with their dominant milieu background. The higher a group is located in the graphic, the higher its level of education, income and professional status is. The farther to the right it reaches, the more contemporary its fundamental values are in socio-cultural terms.

The Internet milieus can be grouped into three segments.

  • Digital Outsiders (39 percent): They are either completely offline or are very insecure about going online. Of the 72 million people aged 14 and older in Germany, 27 million individuals fall into this category. These people feel the Internet forms a digital barrier to a world from which they feel shut off.
  • Digital Immigrants (20 percent): They use the Internet regularly, but very selectively. They did not grow up in a digital world and are very skeptical about many aspects of it, particularly in terms of security and data protection on the Internet.
  • Digital Natives (41 percent): To this group, the digital world is a natural part of their lives. They move about the Internet like fish in water – their motto is: “I surf. Therefore, I am.” They have a very positive view of the Internet and view the continuing digitalization of the world primarily as a personal opportunity.