Internet Behaviour Questionnaire

Institute for Hygiene and Applied Physiology
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zürich (ETH)
Switzerland

language: english, german

Abstract

This questionnaire evaluates how people interact with the Internet and records their experiences. We would appreciate it if you would take some time to fill in this questionnaire (approx. 10 min) and/or distribute the link to this page to your colleagues. The results will be available on this site at the end of march. Please send us an e-mail if you have any questions or comments.

You can win one of five books ( Microserfs from Douglas Coupland), if you send this questionnaire not later than march, 8th, 1996, GMT 0.00 ( see condition of participation). In case you want to participate in the competition you can type in your e-mail address after you have sent the questionnaire.

Please fill in no more questionnaires. The data (450 sent questionnaires) are being evaluated and put on the WWW at the second week of april.

Thanks for your cooperation

Instructions


In the following context INTERNET refers to all Internet services such as E-MAIL, NEWS, WWW, MUD, IRC, ftp ... !!!

Internet: Social questions

1.1 With how many different people do you communicate regulary via the Internet? 1.2 How many new acquaintances have you made solely on the Internet? 1.3 How many of them (answer of 1.2) did you meet personally? 1.4 Has the usage of the Internet influenced your life in a positive way?
      (click the box and choose an answer) 1.5 Has the usage of the Internet influenced your life in a negative way?

Internet: Usage

2.1 For how long have you been using the Internet (including e-mail, gopher, ftp, etc.)? 2.2 How has your usage of the Internet changed over the last year? 2.3 How many hours per week do you spend on the following Internet services?
      (e.g. 0.5 for half an hour) 2.4 How often do you check your e-mail? 2.5 How often does the Internet replace anyone of the following activities or pastimes for you? 2.6 Do you use the Internet to pursue subculture interests (e.g. looking for alternative music bands or tv-soaps on WWW)? 2.7 Do you use the Internet to prepare your holidays? 2.8 Do you use the Internet to look for company or product information? 2.9 Do you participate in self-help groups in the Internet? 2.10 Do you ask on the Internet for psychological, medical or religious advice? 2.11 Do you search a topic on the Internet which you are interested in? 2.12 If you search a topic on the Internet and cannot find it, will you search it afterwards with conventional methods? 2.13 How strong should the information be controlled on the Internet ( 0 equal no control, 100 complete control)? 2.14 If you have anserwed in 2.13 with more than 0, which of the topics listed below should be controlled for their content?

Internet: Feelings

3.1 Do you feel a strong necessity to go onto the Internet when you are not online? 3.2 Do you feel an anticipation before you are using the Internet? 3.3 How would you generally describe your state of mind when
      (Choose a box between each adjective pair) 3.4 Do you ever feel guilty or depressed after using the Internet for a long time? 3.5 Does the Internet play any role in your dreams? 3.6 Are you thinking about what is happening on the Internet itself when you are not using it?

Internet: Experience

4.1 Do you spend more time on the Internet than you originally planned? 4.2 Have you ever lied to your friends about the time you've spent on the Internet? 4.3 Have you deliberately restricted your Internet usage due to previously excessive use? 4.4 How often was your Internet usage restricted (e.g. by the employer, online-service) due to previously excessive use? 4.5 Have you ever lost track of time when you are using the Internet ? 4.6 How often has anyone complained that you spend too much time on the Internet?

Personal data

5.1 Gender? 5.2 Age? 5.3 With whom are you living together? 5.4 How many hours per week do you use computers? 5.5 Is the Internet necessary for your profession/education? 5.6 Which of the following categories describes best your primary occupation? 5.7 Please indicate the highest level of education completed. 5.8 In which country do you live (country abbreviation e.g. USA for United States of America)? 5.9 Who pays for your Internet access (please check all that apply)? 5.10 Do you buy Internet related books or magazines? 5.11 Do you consider for yourself the usage of the Internet as an addiction or dependency? 5.12 How would you look for help if you would be addicted or dependent from the usage of the Internet? 5.13 How many persons do you know, who feel themselves addicted or dependent from the usage of the Internet? 5.14 How did you find out about this questionnaire? 5.15 Comments: