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

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.