Australians believe social media does more harm than good, bucking overwhelming global support for the technology, new Ipsos data has revealed.
Ipsos released its Global Trends: Understanding Asia report, designed to dive deep into the specific issues affecting the Asia Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand.
Australians overwhelmingly believe social media does more harm than good, with data showing their opinions are in stark contrast to those in Asia and across the world. More than half of Australians (54 per cent) said social media did not have a positive impact on people’s lives – just 38 per cent said it did. The figures are in direct opposition to the global data, which showed 54 per cent of people agreeing that social media did have a positive impact on people’s lives, and just 38 per cent disagreed.
“Like many countries globally, Australia is on the precipice of change, particularly as technological evolution and climate change occur at a rapid pace,” said Ipsos Australia CEO, Simon Wake.
“Now more than ever, it is important to understand how Australians are thinking and the issues that are likely to preoccupy water cooler conversation in the coming years. The insights reveal a region that is wary of technology, particularly social media and is cynical about new technology and its impact on mental and emotional health.
“When it comes to climate change, Australians are more concerned than ever about the state of the environment. Like many of their global counterparts, they believe businesses have a critical role to play in minimising harmful environmental effects”.
In line with this, more than half of Australians (54 per cent) believe technical progress is destroying our lives – up from 44 per cent in 2013. The data also shows Aussies are more cynical about technology and AI development than their Asian counterparts. Across Asia, two in three people (68 per cent) said they felt AI was having a positive impact on the world, with China most open to embracing new technology.
Many young Australians are pining for the days of old. The report showed that more than half (52 per cent) of Millennials are nervous about the future and would have preferred to have grown up when their parents were children. In contrast, just 26 per cent of Baby Boomers (most likely to be the parents of Millennials) said they would have wanted to grow up at an earlier time. Overall, four in 10 Australians said they would prefer to have grown up in another era.
The data is in line with sentiment across Asia, where more than half (57 per cent) of Gen Z said they would have preferred to grow up at the time their parents were children. Globally, just over half (51 per cent) said they wished they had grown up in previous decades.
There is broad acceptance across Australia that we are heading for environmental disaster unless we change our habits quickly. The report showed 77 per cent of Australians agree we need to change our ways – and the number has climbed significantly, up from 60 per cent in 2013.
Six in 10 Australians (64 per cent) said they were already doing all they could to save the environment, slightly down on the global average of 72 per cent and on figures across Asia, particularly Indonesia (91 per cent), Thailand (89 per cent) and the Philippines (87 per cent).
Like most of the world, Australians are calling on companies to do more for the environment. Seven in 10 Australians (73 per cent) believe big businesses are not paying enough attention to the environment – on par with the overall APAC average (73 per cent).
The report leverages data from the 8th edition of Ipsos’ Global Trends report, titled “In search of a new consensus: from tension to intention”. The report is the largest public survey in its history, with 50,000 people interviewed across 50 markets.
