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The Swedes and the internet in 2023

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Extract & Key Points from Swedes and the Internet 2023

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The annual report from Internetstiftelsen regarding Swedes’ behavior and use of the internet was released today, October 10, 2023. Pigment has followed the live broadcast about the report and compiles here an excerpt from it. We will delve deeper into the report at a later stage and highlight more interesting data.

The report shows that internet usage continues to increase among the Swedish population. Although the changes are now smaller, the report shows that among the Swedish population that is 16 years or older, 96 percent use the internet. It is mainly older people who do not use it. Among people 75 years and older, it is 3 out of 10 people who do not use the internet. Another more common reason is illness or physical barriers that make us stay away from the internet.

Personal data and online surveillance

The increasing crime in Sweden has raised discussions about crime-fighting measures on the internet to an important issue. This chapter also explores the issue of anonymity on the internet and targeted advertising. Here are some key figures from this chapter:

  • 94% believe that the police, when suspected of a crime, should have the right to access private conversations on the internet, of which about half believe that this should only happen in cases of serious crimes.
  • About 20% want facial recognition camera surveillance in public places to be prohibited.
  • About 50% of Swedes believe it’s not okay for an employer to Google them before hiring. Young people and primarily those who are workers in their professional role are most skeptical of this compared to white-collar workers.

Targeted Advertising

Targeted advertising on the internet has been a current issue, not least around Cookies and the so-called “Cookie death.” According to the report, Swedes are negative about personalized and targeted advertising. This can be seen in this report below where 71% are negative towards targeted advertising on the internet.However, younger users are significantly more positive about targeted advertising than older ones. Among those born in the 2000s, 36% are positive towards targeted advertising, and 57% are negative about it.

 

Web Browsers and Knowledge Databases

In this chapter, Internetstiftelsen has looked at the web browsers that we Swedes mainly use. They have also looked at the usage and information available on Wikipedia, NE.se, and IMDB. How much trust do different age groups place in the information that can be found on these three knowledge databases?

Here are some key figures from this chapter:

  • Google Chrome is the web browser primarily used by Swedes. 8 out of 10 regularly use Google Chrome.
  • Tied for second place among web browsers are Apple’s browser Safari and Microsoft’s two browsers (Edge and Explorer).
  • Among those born in the 2000s, Google Chrome remains the most used browser (47%), but Apple’s Safari at 37% is significantly closer there than among other ages. For example, the corresponding numbers among those born in the 1980s are 51% using Chrome and 24% using Safari.
  • 74% of Swedes use Wikipedia today. However, barely one fourth (23%) of these trust that all information on the site is correct. 8 out of 10 do trust that parts of the content on Wikipedia are correct.
  • 20% of Swedes use NE.se. Those born in the 2000s are the ones who have used NE.se the most of all generations. Almost 50% of all women born in the 2000s use NE.se.
  • One third of Swedes have used IMDB in the past year. Usage is highest among those born in the 1990s, where 74% of men and 58% of women have used the site.

Social Media

Regarding social media, there is much interesting data to look into. Especially when we look at the usage among different age groups. Internetstiftelsen has also here included Roblox, which has seen a significant increase in recent years among younger generations. The graph below clearly shows the difference between our population born in the 20th century and those born in the 21st century.

Key figures regarding overall use of social media:

  • 94% of Swedes use social media and 85% do it every day. Almost all people born in the 1970s or later use social media.
  • The three largest social media are; Youtube, Facebook, and Instagram.
  • 79% of Swedes use Youtube. Usage is highest among those born in the 2000s and 2010s where 62% and 65% use it daily.
  • Among the very youngest users (those born in the 2010s) Youtube and Roblox are used the most. Roblox is used daily by 63% of those born in the 2010s.
  • 64% of Swedes use Instagram, where there are more women (74%) than men (54%). The proportion of people using Instagram is largely unchanged compared to 2022.
  • Even Snapchat’s numbers are largely unchanged compared to 2022. 38% of Swedes use Snapchat, but 87% of people