Men were also more likely to go online than women, although that gap has narrowed, and men are more likely than women to be playing games on the Net, the survey found. Anglophones were also more likely than francophones, and urban dwellers more likely than rural Canadians, to use the Net. Three-quarters of the more than 25,000 Canadians surveyed last year felt access to the Internet should be universal, but differed over whose responsibility it was to remove barriers. But it's more than mere access that's curbing use of the Internet, the report suggests. Roughly 40 per cent of all Canadians say they are greatly concerned about privacy, with another 21 per cent saying they are somewhat concerned.
Women are slightly more concerned than men about security and privacy.
Close to two-thirds of Canadians who use the Internet at home do so for one to seven hours a week. The same proportion of those who use the Internet at work also do so for one to seven hours a week and most say it has made their work more interesting. Only one-quarter say they have ever used the Internet to make a purchase. Just under one-quarter of Internet users bank online, which is most popular among users in their 30s, those with high incomes, and those in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia than in the other provinces. The survey also found more than half of households with children have purchased a computer especially for the children.