A Demand-Side View of Mobile Internet Adoption in the Global South
Mobile technologies show great potential to accelerate internet access and usage, especially in developing countries. A better understanding of key drivers and main constraints for mobile internet access is the first prerequisite for governments to...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/492871616350929155/A-Demand-Side-View-of-Mobile-Internet-Adoption-in-the-Global-South http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35302 |
| Summary: | Mobile technologies show great potential
to accelerate internet access and usage, especially in
developing countries. A better understanding of key drivers
and main constraints for mobile internet access is the first
prerequisite for governments to design targeted policy
solutions. This study exploits a household survey that
collects information on information and communications
technology access and usage at the household and individual
levels in 22 countries in the Global South. The study finds
that in addition to infrastructure investment, which has
been the main focus of many developing countries, other
demand-side factors are of critical importance. Across the
developing world, females, the elderly, those who live in
rural areas, and those who have a relatively low level of
income or education are less likely to adopt mobile
internet. Social network effects are found to have a
significant positive impact on the usage of mobile internet.
Those who have more close friends using an online social
network are more likely to adopt mobile internet.
Individuals whose five closest friends are using an online
social network (such as Facebook or Twitter) are 63.1
percent more likely to adopt it than those without any close
friends using such online social network sites/apps. Across
regions, although the factors affecting the adoption of
mobile internet remain largely the same, the magnitudes of
their impacts vary. In Asia, gender differences are
negatively associated with mobile internet. In Africa, the
impact of education level is more salient than in the other
two regions, implying an urgent need to improve digital literacy. |
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