Citizen Perceptions of The European Union: The Impact of the EU W ...

for example, found that the Internet was the first source people turned to (46.5%) in their study on illness-related (inherited cancer) information seeking. They also noted that the Internet seems to have supplanted other mass media channels for information seeking, as the Internet itself has become a cluster of information that may be interpersonal, authoritative, or mass media.

When considering the issues of online and offline information sources and information seeking with a more specific focus on EU information, there are several studies that have suggested the Internet will come to play an increasingly important role in the media repertoire of European citizens, especially of younger citizens.⁷ As early as 2002, in a Special EB study, 56.3% of respondents viewed the Internet as a good source of specific information on the EU.⁸ More specifically, the Internet—ranging from 12% as a source of information, to 58% for television, 37% for newspapers, and 23% for the radio—was described as having seen a steady growth, such that it was estimated to become a ‘major media challenger’ in the near future. According to data on Internet access by Eurostat (2010)⁹—the statistical office of the EU—48% of European households had access to the Internet in 2005. While the level of access ranged from 16% in Lithuania to 78% in the Netherlands, the level of access in the three countries examined in this study was above the EU25 average. Denmark had the highest number of households with Internet access (75%), followed by Germany (62%), and Great Britain (60%). The more specific data for the student population of these countries revealed even higher levels of access and use. In Denmark, 95% of the students (defined by Eurostat as aged 16 or more in school or university) used the Internet at least once a week in 2005. In Germany, 88% and in Great Britain, 86% of the students went online at least once a week. These figures showed that Internet use was far more frequent and widespread amongst the student population, compared to the figures of all other groups examined (i.e., general population, men, women, employed, unemployed). These findings supported the need to examine the Internet and its role as a source of information about the EU among this younger age group in more detail. Even though it will still be useful