How Do UK Residents Spend Their Time Online?
Do you believe the email is an endangered species in the Internet ecosystem? If you do, you’re in for a surprise. In the UK at least, email is still alive and thriving. Not only that, emailing is actually the most performed online activity in the UK — in 2020, 85% of households declared they went online to send and receive emails.
And if you’re wondering whether that statistic is skewed due to the pandemic lockdowns, we can assure you it isn’t. The survey was carried out in January and February 2020, while — as you probably remember — national lockdown was only declared in March.
Surprising, we know. Makes one wonder what other surprises we may find if we take a peek at what else we Brits are doing online.
Shall we?
Using the Net for Practical Activities
This one is certainly not surprising: several of the most popular uses for the Internet in the UK are simply practical, everyday activities.
Coming a close second to emailing, as an activity 81% of households do, is the expected (and very generic) “search for information on goods and services”. The 2020 report is not clear, but this statistic probably includes the act of buying online — which, according to more recent research, is something that over 80% of Brits do.
Preferred Search Engines
Regarding preferred ways to search online, this Online Nation 2023 report tells us that Brits use Google Search most of all, with half of all online adults using it daily. Bing and Yahoo are the second and third options for online search by UK web surfers. (It will be interesting to see, when new research comes out, how much space those engines lost to the almighty ChatGPT.)
Out of those 81% households using the Internet to look up information on goods and services, 60% are using it (among other things) to check health-related information: symptoms of diseases and health conditions, how to treat specific injuries, diet improvements and so on. And 15% report using apps or websites to gain access to health services and make medical appointments.
Online Banking
Next to the search for information on goods and services, online banking was the most declared practical online activity in 2020. Seventy-six percent of households declare that at least one individual there uses the web to do banking operations.
Going Online for Social Reasons
Again, no surprise here. Actually, maybe yes. Would you believe it if anyone told you that only 71% of UK households say that at least one of its members uses the Internet for instant messaging?
Given the fact that you probably don’t have any friends left that you communicate with exclusively in-person (we dare you to present us one!), you were probably expecting that figure to be close to 100%. Granted, it may have grown a bit in the last four years, but still — twenty-something percent of households not using the Internet for instant messaging certainly makes the old telephone call feel hopeful for survival. Or maybe it’s just a sign of a large aging population...
Most Used Instant Messaging and Social Media Apps
So, what are the most popular instant messaging apps in the UK? The 2023 Online Nation Report tells us WhatsApp is the top choice of adults, being used by 85% of online adults in the UK. A somewhat-close second is Facebook Messenger, at 70% of online adult reach. Google Messages is third, at 22%.
When it comes to online children up to the age of 12, Google Messages is the second preferred option, with the Chinese app WeChat being in third place. (Probably something parents should be worried about.) Young people above 15 don’t use WeChat — their top three are the same as the adults’.
As regards other kinds of social media activity (not exclusively instant messaging), again, 70% of households report using the Internet for that. The most popular apps are Facebook — used by a massive 91% of online adults — and Twitter (re-christened “X”), which was at 50% online adult reach in May 2023 and has probably lost a significant amount of human users since (though it’s certainly gained a huge following among the bot population — a dubious distinction, to say the least).
Reading the News
The biblical proverb says there’s nothing new under the sun, but it seems humanity is taking a while assimilating that message. Billions of us still think we will find something new on news pages, and we doggedly return to them week after week — despite the fact that there’s seldom anything different in the headlines, aside perhaps from business news. Or maybe we are just chasing that dopamine hit.
Whatever the reason, 70% of UK households reported using the Internet in 2020 to read online newspapers, magazines and other kinds of news platforms.
And Finally — the Fun Stuff
We’re not saying that WhatsApping with your friends or FaceTiming with your gran cannot be fun, but that’s not really proper entertainment, is it? And that’s what we are talking about here.
Watching Films and Videos Online
Nearly half of online adults in the UK use two or more streaming services to watch films and other kinds of video content. Unsurprisingly, the most popular platform is YouTube, which reaches 91% of online adults.
Using the Internet to Listen to Music
Are you surprised to learn that 62% of UK households report having at least one member who uses the Internet to listen to or download music? We’re not. There’s definitely a pandemic of silence-aversion in the world, and it’s in great part due to how easy smartphones make it to listen to music (or podcasts) 24/7.
Online Gambling
According to Gambling Commission statistics, an impressive 26% of the adult population of the UK uses the Internet to access gambling platforms and slot sites to play. Slots games, live casino, poker, roulette and blackjack are the most popular options among UK online gamblers.
Gaming Online
Gaming seems to be as popular in the UK as gambling. In 2022, one in every four adult Brits used the Internet to play games online. Favourites include Fortnite, League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Minecraft.
Wrapping It Up
And there you have it. From email and socialising to entertainment and punting (and a few other things we can’t really discuss in this article), Brits spend a lot of time online. Which of these categories do you mostly fall into yourself?
Images: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels
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And if you’re wondering whether that statistic is skewed due to the pandemic lockdowns, we can assure you it isn’t. The survey was carried out in January and February 2020, while — as you probably remember — national lockdown was only declared in March.
Surprising, we know. Makes one wonder what other surprises we may find if we take a peek at what else we Brits are doing online.
Shall we?
Using the Net for Practical Activities
This one is certainly not surprising: several of the most popular uses for the Internet in the UK are simply practical, everyday activities.
Coming a close second to emailing, as an activity 81% of households do, is the expected (and very generic) “search for information on goods and services”. The 2020 report is not clear, but this statistic probably includes the act of buying online — which, according to more recent research, is something that over 80% of Brits do.
Preferred Search Engines
Regarding preferred ways to search online, this Online Nation 2023 report tells us that Brits use Google Search most of all, with half of all online adults using it daily. Bing and Yahoo are the second and third options for online search by UK web surfers. (It will be interesting to see, when new research comes out, how much space those engines lost to the almighty ChatGPT.)
Out of those 81% households using the Internet to look up information on goods and services, 60% are using it (among other things) to check health-related information: symptoms of diseases and health conditions, how to treat specific injuries, diet improvements and so on. And 15% report using apps or websites to gain access to health services and make medical appointments.
Online Banking
Next to the search for information on goods and services, online banking was the most declared practical online activity in 2020. Seventy-six percent of households declare that at least one individual there uses the web to do banking operations.
Going Online for Social Reasons
Again, no surprise here. Actually, maybe yes. Would you believe it if anyone told you that only 71% of UK households say that at least one of its members uses the Internet for instant messaging?
Given the fact that you probably don’t have any friends left that you communicate with exclusively in-person (we dare you to present us one!), you were probably expecting that figure to be close to 100%. Granted, it may have grown a bit in the last four years, but still — twenty-something percent of households not using the Internet for instant messaging certainly makes the old telephone call feel hopeful for survival. Or maybe it’s just a sign of a large aging population...
Most Used Instant Messaging and Social Media Apps
So, what are the most popular instant messaging apps in the UK? The 2023 Online Nation Report tells us WhatsApp is the top choice of adults, being used by 85% of online adults in the UK. A somewhat-close second is Facebook Messenger, at 70% of online adult reach. Google Messages is third, at 22%.
When it comes to online children up to the age of 12, Google Messages is the second preferred option, with the Chinese app WeChat being in third place. (Probably something parents should be worried about.) Young people above 15 don’t use WeChat — their top three are the same as the adults’.
As regards other kinds of social media activity (not exclusively instant messaging), again, 70% of households report using the Internet for that. The most popular apps are Facebook — used by a massive 91% of online adults — and Twitter (re-christened “X”), which was at 50% online adult reach in May 2023 and has probably lost a significant amount of human users since (though it’s certainly gained a huge following among the bot population — a dubious distinction, to say the least).
Reading the News
The biblical proverb says there’s nothing new under the sun, but it seems humanity is taking a while assimilating that message. Billions of us still think we will find something new on news pages, and we doggedly return to them week after week — despite the fact that there’s seldom anything different in the headlines, aside perhaps from business news. Or maybe we are just chasing that dopamine hit.
Whatever the reason, 70% of UK households reported using the Internet in 2020 to read online newspapers, magazines and other kinds of news platforms.
And Finally — the Fun Stuff
We’re not saying that WhatsApping with your friends or FaceTiming with your gran cannot be fun, but that’s not really proper entertainment, is it? And that’s what we are talking about here.
Watching Films and Videos Online
Nearly half of online adults in the UK use two or more streaming services to watch films and other kinds of video content. Unsurprisingly, the most popular platform is YouTube, which reaches 91% of online adults.
Using the Internet to Listen to Music
Are you surprised to learn that 62% of UK households report having at least one member who uses the Internet to listen to or download music? We’re not. There’s definitely a pandemic of silence-aversion in the world, and it’s in great part due to how easy smartphones make it to listen to music (or podcasts) 24/7.
Online Gambling
According to Gambling Commission statistics, an impressive 26% of the adult population of the UK uses the Internet to access gambling platforms and slot sites to play. Slots games, live casino, poker, roulette and blackjack are the most popular options among UK online gamblers.
Gaming Online
Gaming seems to be as popular in the UK as gambling. In 2022, one in every four adult Brits used the Internet to play games online. Favourites include Fortnite, League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Minecraft.
Wrapping It Up
And there you have it. From email and socialising to entertainment and punting (and a few other things we can’t really discuss in this article), Brits spend a lot of time online. Which of these categories do you mostly fall into yourself?
Images: Ketut Subiyanto / Pexels
