The majority on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba doubt information they see online

The majority of residents of the Dutch Caribbean islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba have seen or read information at some point online that they think was questionable or not true at all, according to new figures on internet usage in the Netherlands and the Caribbean from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Practically all of the residents, 97 percent, of St. Eustasius aged 15 and older have access to the internet at home. The share was at 92 percent on Saba. Almost everyone on the islands, 97 percent, uses the internet every day or almost every day, either at home or at work.

Two-thirds of residents on Bonaire and Saba said they had seen or read something online at some point in the past three months that they thought was not true or might have been inaccurate. On St. Eustatius the share was lower. People reported being most skeptical of information they found on social media, with just over half of residents on Bonaire and Saba saying they had seen information on there that they knew was untrue. On St. Eustatius, the share was 40 percent lower. Coming across the information that people deemed untruthful was found to be less likely elsewhere on the internet, including on news websites.

Over three-quarters of residents check if the information they see online is accurate. Residents of St. Eustatius are more likely to, for example, check sources and consult reliable research than those on Bonaire. Around 30 percent also said they had checked at some point whether a website was safe, with no differences between the islands.

Additionally, 94 percent of residents said they had made phone or video calls online, through, for example, WhatsApp or Signal, in the last three months. A total of 86 percent had used social media, such as Instagram, X, or TikTok. There were little to no differences in this case between the islands.