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The results of three new surveys announced this week have revealed some fascinating insights into how the British public use the Internet. From being a geeky techno toy in the early 1990s, the Internet is now vital to the activities of large sections of the UK population.
36 million daily web users
The UK Opinions and Lifestyle Survey asks 1,000 adults each month to gauge their changing attitudes and habits. The most striking finding was that nearly 36 million British residents use the Internet every day, equivalent to 73% of the population, up from 16.2 million users in 2006. Interestingly, the proportion of over-65s using the Internet has also skyrocketed, from 9% in 2006 to 37% this year.
The survey also highlighted some interesting differences in the way that men and women use the web. In almost every use category analysed, men were more likely to be online than their female counterparts. For example, 78% of men used the Internet to send and receive email, as opposed to 72% of women. The largest differences were in attitudes towards downloading software (men were 18% more likely to do this) and reading online news (an 11% difference).
Women, on the other hand, were 2% more likely to be researching education, training and courses. They were also 7% more likely to be seeking health related information, and 3% more likely to be using social networking platforms than men.
The end of the SMS text message is nigh?
The second survey released this week comes from the UK’s regulator of telecommunications, Ofcom. By asking UK residents about their use of mobile phones and web communications methods, Ofcom noticed that attitudes to communications methods are changing, particularly with younger people in the 16-24 age range.
80% of those in the lowest age demographic reported texting on a mobile phone at least once a week. However, 84% communicated with friends or relatives using an online method, such as social network or email, at least once a week. This is the first time since Ofcom began these surveys that anything other than texting has been more popular with those aged 16 to 26.
What is most interesting about these findings is the speed with which social networking has achieved communications dominance. SMS text messaging first overtook voice calling just one year ago, in 2012, when it was found that 58% of people sent texts daily and only 43% made a call. It is worth noting that these 2012 figures were calculated based on the UK population as a whole, but it seems as though online communications tools will achieve similar dominance in record time.
The rise in smartphone ownership means that people now have a choice of communication mediums in the palm of their hand. For instance, most mobile phones now support and video voice calling via the Internet (VoIP) over mobile networks or Wifi. Plus, advances in instant messaging, such as iMessage or WhatsApp, allow people to send SMS-like messages via their data connection, avoiding costly network provider costs in the process. With WhatsApp handling over 10 billion messages each day, it is possible that people are still sending texts, just in a different way to how the Ofcom survey defines it.
17% of households remain offline
Finally, the Office for National Statistics has revealed a fact that will shock many seasoned web users – 17% of British households are still without any form of Internet access. 59% of these households just felt that they simply “did not need to be online”.
With two-thirds of over-65s still not online (according to the UK Opinions and Lifestyle Survey), there are some suggestions this group of people makes up the bulk of the 17% of disconnected households. Other theories put forward by Guardian journalist Mona Chalabi, include a rise in the use of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, or people conducting their personal online business at work.
The government has pledged rollout of basic broadband to every household in the UK by 2015, to help further reduce the number of “disconnected” people. These infrastructure improvements are to be reinforced with educational programmes, designed to demonstrate the benefits of using the Internet to those who have yet to get online.
As well as finding out who isn’t using the web, the ONS survey managed to unearth some other useful data. The group most active online are aged between 25-34, for example, and over 50% of British adults now access the web from their mobile phones. Commenting on their findings, the ONS stated simply, "The internet has changed the way people go about their daily lives.”
In light of the findings of each of these surveys, it is hard to disagree with the ONS – the Internet really has dramatically transformed the habits of the British public.
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