CONFIDENCE AND USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET: A STUDY WITH STUDENTS FROM UNIVERSITY OF MADRID (SPAIN)

The study investigates what the trust and the utility of Internet information for students from the Universities of the Community of Madrid.
It also examines what the relationship between confidence and utility, and diet of digital services that are students.
To this end we conducted a survey to 362 randomly selected students by lecturers from the universities of Madrid. Data were collected through the survey system and database of computing service at the University Complutense of Madrid
The survey asked questions to which subjects describe themselves. To do so, replied on trust in online information on the usefulness of the information, and the diet of services that the student uses.
Thus, we have established three user profiles based on self-definition of the subjects according to their abilities and reported behavior. The self has identified a specific profile of user: the user hard. Subsequently created four objective self-definitions, which allows us to identify response: those who do not use the Internet, using the Internet only occasionally, basic users and power users. Hard users derive from users who had other responses but indicated some such as: "Never turn off the computer", "I am an experienced user," "I'm addicted to Internet", "I consider myself a 'geek'," "I'ma 'hacker', "I can not be disconnected."
These self-definitions are not necessarily define a user who uses the computer more, but thinks that it is used more intensively. Thus, heavy users accounted for 28.5%, 25.7% of hard, basic users 32.3%, and casual users and those who use the Internet are less than 10%.
The results offer to users who identify themselves as hard and intensive are those who have confidence in the information on the Web, although many precautions are observed at large about the credibility of the information on the Internet. The value placed on information on the Web is also associated with increased use of Internet. In this case also points out that users who have a broader diet services (ie, those who use more services and more intense) are those who believe that Internet information is more valuable.
The diet of Services that use is small. This contrasts with the usual image we have of the digital natives.