A majority of Mauritians want unrestricted access to the Internet and social media, Afrobarometer’s recent national survey finds. A large majority (66%) of the respondents say social media informs them about current events and helps them have an impact on political processes. As such, they call for the protection of unrestricted access to the Internet and social media.
However, a small share of citizens believes that the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp makes people more susceptible to fake news and intolerance. This category of respondents, representing 21% of Mauritians sampled, said that the government should regulate access to the internet and social media. Overall, citizens believe the effect of social media on society is positive.
Meanwhile, support for unrestricted access to the Internet and social media is particularly strong among young Mauritians. About 78% of people between the ages of 18 and 35 years support unregulated access to the internet and social media. Also, 73% of those with secondary and 78% of people with post-secondary education support unrestricted access. Even among older and less educated Mauritians, only 1 in 4 favors government regulation of the Internet and social media access.
Awareness of social media
Furthermore, 92% of Mauritians said they have heard of social media. A large majority of the respondents (87%) said it makes people more informed about current events. 69% of the people said it helps them have more impact on political processes. Also, 62% of the respondents believe that social media makes people more likely to believe false news. Besides, 53% believe that it makes people more intolerant toward those with different political opinions.
More than 4 in 10 Mauritians (44%) believe that social media users “often” spread information that they know is false. Also, more respondents blame fake news on social media users than on politicians and political parties (37%) or journalists (27%).
Overall, almost two-thirds (64%) of Mauritians said the effect of social media on society is “somewhat positive” or “very positive”. Meanwhile, radio and television remain the most common sources of daily news for Mauritians. Nevertheless, 7 in 10 citizens (69%) now said they get news every day from social media and the Internet. Also, 94% of young Mauritians between18 and 35 years said they use social media daily to access the news. This compares to 27% of those aged 56 and above.
Growth in social media
Daily use of social media as a news source has more than doubled in the past 6 years. According to Afrobarometer, the share of Mauritians who use social media every day has more than doubled over the past six years. Social media users rose from 32% in 2014 to 69% in 2020.
Afrobarometer, Pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network, interviewed 1,200 adult Mauritians in November 2020. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The Research Network conducted previous surveys in Mauritius in 2012, 2014, and 2017.
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