Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)

InternetNZ recently released their annual “New Zealand’s Internet Insights 2025 survey findings” report.

The following extracted form the report looks at Māori usage and is largely unchanged data from 2010. The Artificial Intelligence remains the same as the previous year.

Internet Use
Māori are heavier internet users than NZ Europeans — 54% spend 4+ hours daily online vs 44% for NZ Europeans. Māori skew more toward social media (53% vs 46%) and reading news articles (34% vs 28%), but are less likely to use email as their primary activity.

Social Media
Māori have notably higher daily TikTok use (21% vs 13%) and Facebook Messenger use (49% vs 51% for NZ Europeans — roughly similar). This is not a surprise as Māori have historically been higher users of YouTube. It simply reflects that people are using their phones more and that there are a significant amount of Māori TikTok influencers than Māori YouTube influencers.

WhatsApp

Usage is lower among Māori (12% vs 17% for NZ Europeans).

Artificial Intelligence
Māori have slightly lower AI knowledge than average (23% know a lot/fair amount vs 31% overall), and tend to be more concerned than excited about AI (54% more concerned vs 47% average). Māori weekly AI usage (71%) is close to the national average (73% among AI users). This statistic remain largely unchanged.

Online Safety & Harm
This is a notable gap.  Māori are significantly more likely to have personally experienced online harm or harassment (20% vs 14% for NZ Europeans). They are also more likely to seek advice from friends and whānau for online safety guidance (34% vs 23%), suggesting lower institutional trust or awareness of formal resources. This statistic remain largely unchanged. I still reinforces a need for an overhaul of available resources for online harm.

Digital Equity
Māori show slightly higher awareness of the digital divide (47% vs 44% average). They are more likely to feel confident accessing digital support (79% vs 74% for NZ Europeans), which is a positive finding.

Internet Perceptions
Māori are more likely than NZ Europeans to feel the internet has a negative impact on cultural beliefs and values (31% vs 35%), though the gap is modest. Concern about personal data security is notably higher among Māori (61% vs 43% for NZ Europeans). This statistic remain largely unchanged.

General Concerns
Māori consistently rate higher than NZ Europeans on nearly all specific internet concerns, particularly children accessing inappropriate content (78% vs 72%), cyberbullying (69% vs 63%), online crime (69% vs 61%), and identity theft (70% vs 57%). This statistic remain largely unchanged.

Key Takeaway
Māori are engaged and active internet users but face a disproportionate experience of online harm, hold stronger safety concerns, and rely more on personal networks (whānau) than formal institutions for guidance. This key finding has historically been unchanged. Again, pointing to an opportunity for more culturally grounded online safety resources, that status quo is not working.