2. Networking
2d. Use the Internet
The internet was used by twenty five percent of the respondents to gain information about Zoroastrianism, with 66% of the respondents saying ‘no’. Few of the respondents, 4%, used the internet to discuss Zoroastrianism see Table 2d 2: ‘The type of information from the Internet’. The internet was used by a quarter of the respondents: it is not known how many respondents had access to the internet and did not use it.
2a. Visit ‘old country’
The majority of the respondents enjoyed visiting the ‘old country’, as shown in Table 2a. About 5% of the respondents were unable or unwilling to visit the ‘old country’; for example some of the respondents said that they could not go back and visit Iran or were unable to visit countries in Africa. Other respondents pointed out that they had more than one ‘old country’ to visit.
2b. Contact with Zoroastrians
The majority of the respondents maintained some form of contact with other Zoroastrians both in the UK and abroad. It is interesting to see that contact by letter is less frequent than contact by telephone. In the 2003 survey e-mail is a new means of keeping contact with other Zoroastrians.
2c. Read/ watch Zoroastrian newspapers, magazines, books and videos
In terms of reading and watching Zoroastrian literature and videos, it was found that Zoroastrian newspapers and magazines were the most popular; 65% read a Zoroastrian newspaper or magazine, with 39% reading Zoroastrian books. The latter includes books written by Zoroastrians or about Zoroastrianism. Twelve percent said that they watched Zoroastrian videos. There were numerous comments on the questionnaires about the availability of videos dealing with Zoroastrianism. These respondents were interested in watching such videos but did not know where to find them.
2d. Use the Internet
The internet was used by twenty five percent of the respondents to gain information about Zoroastrianism, with 66% of the respondents saying ‘no’. Few of the respondents, 4%, used the internet to discuss Zoroastrianism see Table 2d 2: ‘The type of information from the Internet’. The internet was used by a quarter of the respondents: it is not known how many respondents had access to the internet and did not use it.