People are profoundly, if unsurprisingly, ignorant:
- 11% said they thought HTML — a language that is used to create websites — was a sexually transmitted disease.
- 27% identified “gigabyte” as an insect commonly found in South America.
- 15% said they believed “software” is comfortable clothing.
- 12% said “USB” is the acronym for a European country.
Despite the incorrect answers, 61% of the respondents said it is important to have a good knowledge of technology in this day and age.
Good to bear in mind when designing experiences for a broad audience. [Via Husani Oakley]
John, i read Std as Standard, so i guess it’s pun intended 🙂 Now what about html5 and web STDs, can we cure that ?
[Hah! —J.]
Saw this reported elsewhere – where the survey itself came under some criticism (rightly so).
Of the nearly 2,400 respondents, 79% affirmed that HTML is a “programming language used to make websites”. And 82% recorded that they recognized USB as “a standard connection for different technical devices”. The maximum for a correct response was 97% (when answering that texting was “sending a text message on a mobile device” (decisively though, only 81% could identify correctly what hash browns are ….).
p.s. and even more decisively, the survey originated in the U.K. (“is the acronym for …” etc.)
Do note that it was a multiple choice survey where – when in doubt – people tend to guess. If it were an “open questions”-survey, the result would be that 1 in 10 doesn’t know the meaning of the acronym HTML.
17% of respondents claimed they never drive in the HIV during rush hour periods