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Around 80,000 people have taken part in the “ORF fragt” survey in recent weeks, providing insight into their concerns, expectations, and media wishes. While the majority are satisfied with their own life situation, fears of war, inflation, and a looming two-tier healthcare system dominate.
Around 80,000 people responded to the call for the second edition of “ORF asks” and took part in an online survey on a wide range of topics. This shows that 73 percent are generally satisfied with their own life situation, but there is little optimism, the public broadcaster reported in a press release. The biggest concerns of those surveyed were armed conflicts and the pressure to save money, especially on food.
80,000 people responded to questions on current issues
According to ORF, questions on topics relevant to everyday life were asked from September 17 to October 8. The project was accompanied and evaluated by the opinion research institute Integral. However, ORF emphasized that no sample was taken according to scientific criteria in the open survey. The results are therefore not representative of the entire Austrian population. All data is available on the project website ORFfragt.at.
“The numerous responses are a valuable resource from which conclusions can be drawn for ORF programming,” explained ORF Director General Roland Weißmann. When asked what kind of information they would like to see more often, 60 percent of participants mentioned documentaries or reports, 43 percent mentioned detailed reports and analyses, and 41 percent mentioned brief information.
Concerns about healthcare and migration
In addition to wars (79 percent) and rising prices (64 percent), people are concerned about the state of democracy worldwide (63 percent), the lack of social cohesion (58 percent), and the widening gap between rich and poor (56 percent). In addition, people are currently equally concerned (52 percent each) about the economic situation and healthcare in Austria, security/crime/terrorism, and immigration/migration.
When asked which crisis events they consider very likely to affect them personally or their region in the next five years, around four in ten survey participants expect flooding or a terrorist attack. 25 percent consider a military attack on Austria or war in the next five years to be very likely. When it comes to assessing their own economic situation, 21 percent are just about making ends meet, and for six percent, it is not enough to cover their expenses. In the Austrian healthcare system, the most urgent task is seen as preventing a “two-tier healthcare system.”
Too much time on cell phones, but online transactions are positive
According to their own statements, 30 percent of respondents regularly spend more time on their cell phones than planned—among those under 30, the figure is as high as 55 percent. Forty-one percent feel overwhelmed by developments in the digital sector, but the majority (58 percent) are coping very well overall. Most people view the fact that many things can now be done online as positive (71 percent).
Forty-nine percent believe that social media divides society, 59 percent believe that children should be kept away from it for as long as possible, and 72 percent believe that people should talk to each other directly more often again. Only ten percent see social media as an enrichment to their own lives. Fifteen percent believe that without social media, people would not know what is really happening in the world. Eighty-six percent find misinformation and fake news on the internet rather difficult to recognize. Nine out of ten also believe that fake news has an impact on our democracy.
Discussion of the results in “Wie tickt Österreich?”
Next week on Tuesday at 2 p.m. in a live stream on zukunft.ORF.at and on Friday at 1:05 p.m. on ORF III, the ORF Dialogue Forum “Wie tickt Österreich?” will focus on the results. Klaus Unterberger, presenter and head of the ORF’s Public Value Competence Center, will address the question of how participatory media formats can contribute to strengthening democracy and society. Citizens and representatives from the media and academia will take part in the discussion.
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