Entertainment, communication or academic use? A survey of Internet cafe users in Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

Internet cafes are the most popular public access Internet points in Pakistan. People go there to fulfill their entertainment, communication and academic needs. This study is an attempt to highlight the characteristics of Internet cafe users in the Pakistani context. A total of 242 users at 49 Internet cafes in the city of Lahore were selected through the snowball sampling method and asked to complete a questionnaire covering: profile of Internet cafe users on various demographic variables; frequency of use of Internet cafes; users’ preferences to choose Internet cafes; purposes for which people use Internet cafes; and problems of cafe users. Users’ profiles show that the cafes were mainly occupied by male users. Students were the most regular users who came mostly for entertainment, chat and email facilities. The respondents mentioned problems of low service quality, poor environment and lack of privacy at Internet cafes.

Full text

http://idv.sagepub.com
Information Development
DOI: 10.1177/0266666910366650
2010; 26; 141 Information Development
Syeda Hina Batool and Khalid Mahmood Entertainment, communication or academic use? A survey of Internet cafe users in Lahore, Pakistan
http://idv.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/2/141
The online version of this article can be found at:
Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com
can be found at:Information Development Additional services and information for
http://idv.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Email Alerts:
http://idv.sagepub.com/subscriptions Subscriptions:
http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints:
http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.navPermissions:
http://idv.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/26/2/141 Citations
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

Article
Entertainment, communication or
academic use? A survey of Internet
cafe users in Lahore, Pakistan
Syeda Hina Batool and Khalid Mahmood
University of the Punjab
Abstracts
Internet cafes are the most popular public access Internet points in Pakistan. People go there to fulfill their
entertainment, communication and academic needs. This study is an attempt to highlight the characteristics
of Internet cafe users in the Pakistani context. A total of 242 users at 49 Internet cafes in the city of Lahore
were selected through the snowball sampling method and asked to complete a questionnaire covering: profile
of Internet cafe users on various demographic variables; frequency of use of Internet cafes; users’ preferences
to choose Internet cafes; purposes for which people use Internet cafes; and problems of cafe users. Users’ pro-
files show that the cafes were mainly occupied by male users. Students were the most regular users who came
mostly for entertainment, chat and email facilities. The respondents mentioned problems of low service quality,
poor environment and lack of privacy at Internet cafes.
Keywords
Internet cafes, cyber cafe, Internet use, Internet cafe users, Pakistan
Internet cafes in Lahore are used mainly for entertainment, email and chat. Few users use the
Internet for academic and research activities.
Background
The use of the Internet has become indispensable as we
are transforming into an information society. It pro-
vides us with feasible and efficient solutions to our
problems. It is a huge world which is accessible to us
just on one click. It diminishes our geographic, historic,
economic, and political distances. There were 1.73 bil-
lion Internet users in the world in September 2009
(25.6 percent of the total population). In Pakistan, the
number of Internet users was estimated to be 18.5 mil-
lion (10.6 percent penetration), out of a population of
more than 175 millions (Internet World Stats, 2010).
There are around 3.5 million Internet connections
(2.2 percent penetration), mostly dialup, with only
about 0.1 million broadband users (one of the lowest
in the world, 143rd in global ranking). There are about
5 million personal computers in the country (above 3
percent penetration) and some 80 million telephone
users (50 percent teledensity), including 4.7 million
fixed lines, 2.0 million WLL (Wireless Local Loop)
and 74.6 million mobile cellular customers. (Ministry
of Information Technology, n.d.). Although over
13,500 users have registered under the ‘.pk’ domain,
this is quite disappointing in relation to the potential
strength of the Internet in the country (Kenneth, 2008).
The telecommunication infrastructure thus has
serious gaps in the provision of Internet, computer,
telephone lines, mobile and mobile Internet connec-
tions. To overcome these problems the government
established the Ministry of Information Technology
to improve the IT infrastructure. The government has
included a compulsory, up-to-date computer literacy
module in the high school curriculum and has
launched a plan for providing low priced computers
and Internet connectivity to universities, colleges and
Corresponding author:
Dr Khalid Mahmood, Professor of Library and Information
Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. Tel. and fax:
þ92 42 99231224.
Email: khalid@dlis.pu.edu.pk
Information Development
26(2) 141–147
ªThe Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0266666910366650
idv.sagepub.com
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

schools through a joint public–private sector initiative
(Shafique and Mahmood, 2009).
All cities and towns in Pakistan are connected to the
Internet; computer prices are now within public range
and many people use the Internet at their offices, edu-
cational institutions, homes, etc. DSL, cable and wire-
less services are emerging, but dialup connections are
still popular, even though dialup access is costly and
slow and many companies are offering cheaper Internet
rates to convert dialup users to broadband (Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority, 2009). Nevertheless,
public access to the Internet is mainly provided by
Internet cafes, which offer cheaper Internet access rates
as compared to surfing at home.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (2003)
provided the following legal definition: ‘‘Cyber cafe
means and includes cyber cafe/ Internet club/ Internet
parlor, or a place or premises where Internet access is
provided on local area network or dialup or leased line
connectivity from any Internet service provider.’’ In
2006 there were 5,500 registered Internet cafes oper-
ating in Pakistan (E-Commerce Resource Centre,
2006), and these cafes – which are mainly located
in urban areas – are playing a positive role in promot-
ing the information society.
On the other hand, negative use of the Internet is
also very common in the cafes. A lot of them are not
registered with the government and are thus operating
illegally. Many use many basement shops for this pur-
pose; many cafes are decorated like departmental
stores in outside, but computers and cabins are hidden
inside. A consultancy paper on cyber cafe regulariza-
tion was prepared by the Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority in 2003 to ensure that premises shall not be
used for crime, violence, black market, smuggling,
bribery, corruption, computer hacking or any other
social evil like pornography (Pakistan Telecommuni-
cation Authority, 2003). The President of Pakistan has
issued the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance
(2009), which requires service providers to maintain
records of customers, complete with identity, address
and telephone number. Crimes like cyber terrorism,
electronic fraud, cyber stalking, spamming, spoofing,
hacking of websites and criminal access to secure data,
etc. will be addressed by maximum punishment of
death or life imprisonment for those involved.
Literature review
Several studies have been conducted to explore the
profile of Internet users and the use of Internet cafes
in different parts of the world. In China, Internet cafes
are the source of computer training and public access
to the Internet, especially for people with low
incomes, and are playing a major role in building the
information society, although they are not evenly dis-
tributed across the country. There were 133,163 regis-
tered Internet cafes in China in 2007 (People’s
Republic of China. Ministry of Culture, 2008). People
mainly surf the Internet for entertainment, i.e.
chatting, games, etc. (Hong and Huang, 2005).
In Turkey, Internet cafes are encouraged to connect
people from low socio-economic backgrounds with
the Internet. However, the misuse of Internet cafes
also led the government to divide cafes into those
with a games license and those without. A survey of
26 Internet cafes showed that 77.7 percent of users
were between the ages of 15 and 24, of whom
39.3 percent visited game websites, 48.5 percent used
the Internet for chat and 43.2 percent viewed websites
with educational content (Gurol and Servindik, 2006).
In the Arab world, of 300 million Arabs there are
only 23.3 million Internet users, most of whom rely
on Internet cafes due to high internet access fees.
Jordan made the Guinness Book of World Records for
having the largest concentration of Internet cafes
anywhere. Here users spend 12 hours per week online,
often in chat rooms (Warf and Vincent, 2007).
Furuholt, Kristiansen and Wahid (2008) compared
the Internet usage of Indonesians and Tanzanians at
cyber cafes. It was observed that cyber cafes were
very popular in these countries. Males were dominant
users at the cafes. Favorite activities were email,
information seeking and chatting.
There are innumerable cyber cafes in India, mostly
in small urban areas. A questionnaire survey of
318 users in 21 cyber cafes was conducted by Singh
and Krishnatray (2003) in Bhopal, a Central Indian
city. The study revealed that a significant reason for
using Internet cafes was the low cost. Most of the
Internet users’ daily activities were emailing, gaming
and chatting; fewer users were interested in job hunt-
ing, seeking admission details for colleges, universi-
ties etc.
In Pakistan, studies about Internet cafes are mostly
published in daily newspapers, government reports
and websites. Very few research studies have been
conducted on the use of Internet cafes in the country.
One study reported limited use of the Internet among
educated Pakistani adults. Some cyber cafe owners
were also interviewed. They were of the view that
many people preferred to use Internet cafes for
142 Information Development 26(2)
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

various educational and other purposes, due to high
speed and reliable connectivity. However, among 28
reported reasons for Internet non-use, the first in rank
was the respondents’ dissatisfaction with the cyber
cafes. Eighty-three percent of female respondents did
not find the cyber cafes’ environment conducive for
their use (Shafique and Mahmood, 2009). In another
study, female users were reported to feel deprived
of a favorable environment in Internet cafes. They
complained of people watching unethical websites,
movies, playing songs and smoking at these places.
Calling such technological disparities between
women and men a ‘‘gender digital divide,’’ experts
said that there was a need to come up with innovative
ideas and gender specific policies to narrow the gap
between men and women in this respect (‘Girls
deprived ...,’ 2008).
Objectives and methods
The objectives of this study were to find out the:
profile of Internet cafe users on various demo-
graphic variables;
frequency of use of Internet cafes;
users’ preferences to choose Internet cafes;
purposes for which people use Internet cafes; and
problems of cafe users.
This descriptive research was based on a question-
naire survey. The study sample consisted of 242 users
from 49 Internet cafes in Lahore (the second largest
city of Pakistan with a population of 10 million). As
there was no list of Internet cafes in the city, the cafes
were selected by using snowball sampling method,
referred by cafe owners and users. Very few Internet
cafes were identified in low socio-economic areas, so
the study covered a range of high to middle socio-
economic areas. Users of the Internet cafes were
approached from noon till late evening in order to
consider the rush hours. In the light of the literature
review a preliminary questionnaire was prepared and
distributed among the users of two Internet cafes for
pre-testing. It was modified and translated into Urdu
as suggested during pre-testing.
The questionnaire was administered by the
researchers. All users present during the visits to the
cafes were requested to complete the questionnaire.
A total of 242 respondents were targeted. The data
collection instrument consisted of demographic and
multiple choice questions with an option of ‘other’
in all questions. Respondents were asked why they
preferred to use Internet cafes and to indicate on a list
of 22 activities performed at these cafes those that
were most relevant to them. The respondents were
also asked to indicate any problems they faced in
using the cafes. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver-
sion 16.0.
Results and discussion
Demographic profile of participants
Table 1 shows that the biggest group of users were
people between the ages of 16 and 22 (53.7 percent).
Although the legal minimum age for using Internet
cafes in Pakistan is 15 years, some users below
15 years of age (12.8 percent) were observed surfing
the Internet, playing games and chatting online in the
cafes.
Table 2 shows that the great majority (91.7 percent)
of cafe users were male. The fact that only 8.3 percent
of respondents were female confirms the findings of
similar studies in other countries, that male users are
predominant in Internet cafes.
Table 3 shows the education level of the Internet
cafe users. Most of them (57.9 percent) had university
level education, but it is interesting to note that 55
respondents (22.7 percent) had attended high school
and 33 respondents (13.6 percent) had only elemen-
tary level education.
Table 4 shows that most of the Internet cafe users
were students (36.8 percent). The others included
information technology/computer professionals, busi-
nessmen, engineers, doctors, salesmen, unemployed,
teachers, bankers/accountants, lawyers, journalists,
public servants, managers and researchers.
Respondents other than students and the unem-
ployed were asked to indicate their monthly incomes.
According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan
Table 1. Internet cafe users in Lahore, by age group
Age (years) Frequency Percentage
15 or younger 31 12.8
16–22 130 53.7
23–29 56 23.1
30–39 14 5.8
40–49 5 2.1
50 or over 3 1.2
Missing 3 1.2
Total 242 100.0
Batool and Mahmood: Entertainment, communication or academic use? 143
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

2008–2009, the average per capita income in Pakistan
is PKR 7,417 per month (Ministry of Finance, 2009).
This figure falls about midway in the PKR 5,000–
10,000 income group shown in Table 5, suggesting
that perhaps as many as half the users in that group
(say, 25 cases) have incomes below the national aver-
age. Taken together with the 25 users reporting
incomes below PKR 5,000 per month, this suggests
that perhaps 50 respondents (34.2 percent) had
incomes below the national average, thus confirming
the importance of the Internet cafes as means of
access to the Internet for the poorer members of the
community.
Use of Internet access points
Although having a computer at home is now
economical for middle class citizens in Pakistan and,
as indicated above, many people use the Internet at
their offices, educational institutions, homes, etc.,
Table 6 shows that, for the great majority of respon-
dents to this survey (79.3 percent), the Internet cafe
is the access point they use most.
Frequency of use of Internet cafes
Table 7 shows that a majority of the respondents were
regular visitors to the Internet cafes, with nearly
80 percent visiting a cafe at least once a week and less
than 8 percent visiting only once a month or less
frequently.
Reasons for using Internet cafes
The users in this study were asked to indicate why
they preferred to use the Internet at these cafes
(Table 8). They were allowed to indicate more than
one preference. The results revealed that 59.5 percent
felt it convenient to use cafes in terms of their loca-
tion, 33.9 percent appreciated the high speed of Inter-
net available at the cafes, while 14.0 percent visited
cafes because of the availability of printing facilities.
Interestingly in view of the data on average monthly
income shown in Table 5, only 8.7 percent used the
cafes because they were offering cheaper Internet
surfing rates than other access points. It would thus
Table 2. Internet cafe users in Lahore, by gender
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 222 91.7
Female 20 8.3
Total 242 100.0
Table 3. Internet cafe users in Lahore, by educational level
Education Frequency Percentage
Elementary (up to 13 years
of age)
33 13.6
High school (up to 18 years
of age)
55 22.7
University (above 18 years
of age)
140 57.9
Missing 14 5.8
Total 242 100.0
Table 4. Internet cafe users in Lahore, by occupation
Occupation Frequency Percentage
Student 89 36.8
IT/computer professional 19 7.9
Businessman 17 7.0
Engineer 16 6.6
Doctor 14 5.8
Salesman 10 4.1
Unemployed 7 2.9
Teacher 6 2.5
Banker/accountant 5 2.1
Lawyer 4 1.7
Journalist 4 1.7
Public servant 3 1.2
Manager 3 1.2
Researcher 2 0.8
Others 41 16.9
Missing 2 0.8
Total 242 100.0
Table 5. Internet cafe users in Lahore, by monthly income
group (excluding students [89 cases] and the unemployed
[7 cases])
Monthly income
(PKR) Frequency Percentage
Below 5,000 25 17.1
5,000–10,000 49 33.6
11,000–15,000 18 12.3
16,000–20,000 23 15.8
21,000–25,000 5 3.4
26,000–30,000 5 3.4
Above 30,000 4 2.7
Missing 17 11.6
Total (excluding students
and unemployed)
146 100.0
144 Information Development 26(2)
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

appear that, even among the substantial proportion of
users with incomes below the national average, other
factors were more important than cost in their
decisions to use the Internet cafes.
Purposes for using Internet cafes
Based on the literature review, a list of 22 activities that
could be carried out through the Internet was provided
to the respondents, who were asked to indicate the
activities they themselves mainly engaged in when
using the Internet cafes. They were allowed to indicate
multiple activities. The results are presented in Table 9.
The results confirm those of previous studies (e.g.
Singh and Krishnatray, 2003; Gurol and Servindik,
2006; Furuholt, Kristiansen and Wahid, 2008) that
Internet cafes in different countries are mostly used for
entertainment, email and chat. Although a large num-
ber of the participants in this study were students, they
rarely used the Internet for academic purposes such as
research, college admission, scholarships, reading
news groups and seeking help for course assignments.
Problems experienced at Internet cafes
Public access places should be designed to meet their
users’ needs and demands. Respondents were allowed
to indicate any problems they faced at these cafes
(multiple responses were allowed). More than half the
respondents (54.1 percent) complained about lack
of privacy and disturbance from other users and
47.5 percent about poor quality of service. Despite the
fact that, as shown in Table 8, ‘convenient location’
was cited by nearly 60 percent of respondents as their
the main reason for using Internet cafes, 43.0 percent
complained about the poor location of the cafes in the
city. Similar discrepancies between the two sets of
results were noted in respect of reliability of power
supply, speed of Internet access, charges for Internet
Table 6. Internet cafe users in Lahore; most used Internet
access points
Access points Frequency Percentage
Internet cafe 192 79.3
Home 26 10.7
Office 14 5.8
School/college/university 2 0.8
Other 4 1.7
Missing 4 1.7
Total 242 100.0
Table 7. Internet cafe users in Lahore; frequency of use of
Internet cafes
Use Frequency Percentage
Almost every day 76 31.4
3–4 days a week 71 29.3
1–2 days a week 44 18.2
Twice to thrice a month 28 11.6
Once a month or less 19 7.9
Missing 4 1.7
Total 242 100.0
Table 8. Internet cafe users in Lahore; reasons for using
Internet cafes
Rank Preferences Percentage
1 Convenient location 59.5
2 High speed access 33.9
3 Availability of printers 14.0
4 Assistance to users 11.2
5 Reliability of power supply 10.7
6 Cheaper than other sources 8.7
7 Security 5.0
Table 9. Internet cafe users in Lahore; purposes for using
Internet cafes
Rank Activities Percentage
1 Entertainment (music/games) 56.6
2 Read/send email 39.7
3 Chat 39.3
4 Browsing/surfing 21.5
5 Sports/television 19.4
6 Search for job 15.3
7 Academic research 13.6
8 Read news groups 13.2
9 To supplement coursework 12.0
10 Downloading software 10.7
10 To learn Internet skills 10.7
12 To visit recommended sites 8.7
13 Browse for scholarship 6.6
13 Political purposes 6.6
15 Browse on behalf of others 6.2
16 Upcoming and on-going events 5.8
17 College admission and sponsor
search
5.4
17 Health purposes 5.4
19 Shopping and transaction 4.5
20 Web design/registration 3.7
20 Distance learning 3.7
22 To engage in discussion groups 2.5
Batool and Mahmood: Entertainment, communication or academic use? 145
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

use, availability of printers and security. These may
be explained by variations in the levels of service
offered by different cafes, with some providing more
conducive environments than others.
Conclusion
This study found that Internet cafes in Pakistan’s sec-
ond largest city of Lahore are used primarily by
males, mostly of the ages between 16 and 22. People
who have completed or continue education at univer-
sity level, especially students, are in the majority.
People who are of middle or low economic status are
the regular users of the cafes. Entertainment, email
and chat are the favorite activities at these cafes, fol-
lowed by browsing the Internet, watching television
or sports and searching for jobs. Only a few users use
the Internet for academic and research activities. The
users complained about the improper location, non-
conducive environment and poor quality of service
in many of the cafes.
It is recommended that Internet cafes must be
regularized under government laws to provide satis-
factory standards of service and improve the environ-
ment. The environment should also be made
conducive for female users. Internet cafes must be
within reach of all urban and rural residents. The users
must be educated in order to minimize unethical and
illegal use of Internet cafes. Measures should be taken
to maintain privacy of the users. The infrequent use of
Internet cafes for academic purposes is alarming. One
reason for this may be the lack of awareness among
students about the academic benefits of this
technology. Special orientation programs for students
could be helpful to improve the situation.
References
E-Commerce Resource Centre. (2006) Country progress
report – Pakistan. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.
afact.org/doctemp/00003/
afact_353420060706174812.pdf
Furuholt, B., Kristiansen, S., and Wahid, F. (2008)
Comparing the use of Internet cafes in Indonesia and
Tanzania. International Information and Library
Review, 40, 129–139.
‘Girls deprived of quality net cafes in Pakistan.’ (2008,
December 15) Retrieved from http://www.thaindian.
com/newsportal/world-news/girls-deprived-of-quality-net-
cafes-in-pakistan_100131236.html
Gurol, M., and Sevindik, T. (2006) Profile of Internet cafe
users in Turkey. Telematics and Informatics, 24, 59–68.
Hong, J., and Huang, L. (2005) A split and swaying
approach to building information society: The case of
Internet cafes in China. Telematics and Informatics,
22, 377–393.
Internet World Stats. (2010) Usage and population statis-
tics. Retrieved from http://www.Internetworldstats.com
Kenneth, R. (2008, January 20) Only 2.12 percent people
use Internet in Pakistan. Daily Pakistan.
Ministry of Finance (2009) Economic survey of Pakistan
2008–09. Islamabad: Ministry of Finance.
Ministry of Information Technology (n.d.) Broadband
penetration in Pakistan: Current scenario and future
prospects. Retrieved from http://www.ispak.com.pk/
downloads/MoITstudyon/broadbandpenetration.pdf
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. (2003) Consulta-
tion paper on cyber cafe regulations. Retrieved from
www.pakcon.org/post-pakcon/pc-khi-04-jawad-elec-
tronic-commerceand-cyber-crime.pdf
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. (2009) Annual
report. Islamabad: PTA.
People’s Republic of China. Ministry of Culture. (2008)
China culture and cultural product statistical yearbook.
Beijing: Library Press.
Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance. (2009)
Retrieved from http://www.na.gov.pk/ordinances/
ord2009/prevention_electronic_crime_ord2009_210809.
pdf
Shafique, F., and Mahmood, K. (2009) Why the offline are
offline: A survey of Internet use by educated Pakistani
adults. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 12(3), 351–354.
Singh, P. P., and Krishnatray, P. (2003) Gratifications from
Internet use: A survey of cyber cafe users in a Central
Indian city. Retrieved from http://www.hicsocial.org/
social2003proceedings/pushpendra percent 20pal per-
cent 20singh.pdf.
Warf, B. and Vincent, P. (2007) Multiple geographies of
the Arab Internet. Area, 39(1), 83–96.
Table 10. Internet cafe users in Lahore; problems
experienced at Internet cafes
Rank Problems Percentage
1 No privacy/disturbance 54.1
2 Lack of quality services 47.5
3 Poor location 43.0
4 Poor environment 33.5
5 Electricity failure 23.5
6 Poor Internet speed 21.4
7 Costly internet rates 19.8
8 No data security 19.4
9 Outdated equipment 15.7
10 Not compatible timings 14.4
11 Lack of printing/scanning etc.
facilities
11.1
12 Damaged equipment 10.3
146 Information Development 26(2)
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from

About the authors
Syeda Hina Batool is a Lecturer in Library and
Information Science at the University of the Punjab,
Lahore, Pakistan. Phone and fax: þ92 42 99231224.
Email: hina@ dlis.pu.edu.pk
Dr. Khalid Mahmood is Professor of Library and
Information Science at the University of the Punjab,
Lahore, Pakistan. Phone and fax: þ92 42 99231224.
Email: khalid@ dlis.pu.edu.pk (corresponding author)
Batool and Mahmood: Entertainment, communication or academic use? 147
at UCLA on May 28, 2010 http://idv.sagepub.comDownloaded from