UK’s internet use surges to record levels

Adults in the UK are now spending more than a quarter of their waking day online with services such as TikTok and Zoom seeing unprecedented growth, according to Ofcom’s latest study into the nation’s online lives.

Ofcom’s annual Online Nation report shows that in April 2020, during the height of the coronavirus lockdown, UK adults spent a daily average of four hours and two minutes online. This is up from just under three and a half hours in September last year.

With people looking for new ways to keep connected, informed, entertained and fit during the pandemic, video-sharing and video-calling services are surging in popularity.

TikTok, which allows users to create and share short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos, reached 12.9 million UK adult visitors in April, up from just 5.4 million in January. Twitch, the popular live streaming platform for video gamers, saw visitors increase from 2.3 million to 4.2 million adults.

The proportion of people making video calls has also doubled during lockdown, with more than seven in 10 doing so at least weekly. Houseparty, the app which combines group video-calls with games and quizzes, grew from 175,000 adult visitors in January to 4 million in April. But the biggest growth was seen by Zoom, the virtual meeting platform, which grew from 659,000 users to reach 13 million users over the same period – a rise of almost 2,000%.

A nation of content creators

Sites and apps such as YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, which allow people to create, upload and share videos online, have never been so popular.

Our report reveals that nine in 10 adults, and almost all older children aged 8-15, with access to the internet used at least one of these in the last year, with many doing so several times a day. One third (32%) of online adults now spend more time viewing video-sharing services than broadcast television.

And we’re not only watching but creating and broadcasting our own content too. Two in five adults (40%) and 59% of older children who use video-sharing sites and apps now create and upload their own videos, driving an explosion in short-form, user-generated content.

Vlogging is also a money-making enterprise, with 17% of adults who create and upload videos receiving revenue or gifts in return. With some vloggers going on to achieve global celebrity status, the proportion of children under 13 who aspire to become a ‘YouTuber’ had increased by 19% by the end of 2019 compared to 2018. Boys in particular are more likely to consider it as a career.

A graph showing how many users of video-sharing services upload videos.

How the pandemic is changing communications

Our study shows that, before the pandemic, many people were moving away from more established forms of communication – particularly landline calls and SMS text messages – and adopting newer methods.

A graph showing that adult internet users are as likely to send a message by WhatsApp and they are to send an SMS.

In the 12 months to February 2020, more people were sending daily text messages using online messaging platforms (52%), such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, than using SMS (41%) or email (26%). Daily use of online voice calls (31%) was only slightly lower than mobile calls (38%).

The pandemic appears to have sped up the adoption of online services to keep in touch. More than seven in 10 people in the UK are now making video calls at least weekly, up from 35% pre-lockdown. This trend is particularly noticeable among older internet users; the proportion of online adults aged 65+ who make a least one video-call each week increased from 22% in February 2020 to 61% by May 2020.

Confident but cautious

For many adults and children, watching or creating content on video-sharing sites or apps is a positive experience. But 87% of adults – and 79% of 8 to 15 year olds – have concerns around children using these platforms. Bullying or trolling, harmful or age-inappropriate content and receiving private messages from strangers are among the top concerns.

Adults’ trust in sites to remove illegal, offensive and harmful material has grown by seven percentage points since last year, to 54%. Nevertheless, most adults (57%) continue to support greater regulation of video-sharing platforms (64% in 2019).

Ofcom is preparing to take on new duties for the regulation of UK-based video-sharing platforms. This summer, we will be publishing a call for evidence to inform our guidance on how platforms should protect users from harmful content.

Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom’s Director of Strategy and Research, said: “Lockdown may leave a lasting digital legacy. The coronavirus has radically changed the way we live, work and communicate online, with millions of people using online video services for the first time.

“As the way we communicate evolves and people broaden their online horizons, our role is to help ensure that people have a positive experience, and that they’re safe and protected.”

Briggs: New measures to keep us connected

A range of new measures have come into force to help the country to stay digitally connected during the coronavirus.

Ofcom, the regulatory authority for telecommunications, has announced new commitments to help broadband consumers during this difficult time.

These include:

Working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill to ensure they are treated fairly and supported appropriately.
Removing all data allowance caps on all current fixed broadband services.
Ensuring that vulnerable customers receive alternative methods of communication if priority repairs to fix landlines and broadband cannot be carried out.
Offering new generous mobile and landline packages to ensure people are connected such as free calls or data boosts.

These commitments, effective immediately, will be delivered by the major internet service and mobile providers, namely BT/EE, Openreach, Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, O2, Vodafone, Three, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, and KCOM.

Universal Service Obligation

From the 20^th March, households also now have a legal right to request a decent, affordable broadband connection from BT under the new Universal Service Obligation (USO).

Lothian residents can check if they are eligible for an upgrade at www.bt.com/uso or by calling BT direct on 0800 783 0223.

Those eligible may be able to use a 4G Hub or will have work done up to £3,400 free of charge to install a fixed line connection.

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “During the Coronavirus lockdown, being connected to the rest of the world is more important than ever, for working from home and staying connected with friends and family.

“These measures by Ofcom will ensure that people can remain connected during this pandemic. A number of household in Edinburgh and the Lothian’s will be finding it financially hard at the moment and companies have a responsibility to treat their customers fairly.”

Parents more concerned about their children online

More parents than ever feel children’s online use now carries more risks than benefits, according to Ofcom’s latest research into children’s media and online lives.

Ofcom’s Children’s Media Use and Attitudes report 2019 is based on around 3,500 interviews with children and parents. Children’s Media Lives is a qualitative report looking at how children aged eight to 18 think about and use digital media.

Parents and carers are becoming more likely to trust their children with greater digital independence at a younger age. But far fewer believe the benefits of their child being online outweigh the risks than five years ago. And around two million parents now feel the internet does their children more harm than good.

This comes as children are now more likely to see hateful content online. Half of 12-15s who go online had seen hateful content in the last year, up from a third in 2016.

Parents are increasingly concerned about their child seeing something online which might encourage them to harm themselves. Similarly, two gaming-related problems are increasingly concerning parents: the pressure on their child to make in-game purchases of things like ‘loot boxes’, a virtual item containing rewards; and the possibility of their child being bullied via online games.

However, parents are now more likely than in 2018 to speak to their children about staying safe online, and are nearly twice as likely to go online themselves for support and information about keeping their children safe.

Influencers, online activism and girl gamers

Looking at what today’s children are doing online, Ofcom uncovered three big trends over the past year.

The ‘Greta effect’. There is increased online social activism among children. Almost a fifth of 12-15s use social media to express support for causes and organisations by sharing or commenting on posts. One in 10 signed petitions on social media.
Rise of the ‘vlogger next door’. While high-profile YouTube stars remain popular, children are now increasingly drawn to so-called ‘micro’ or ‘nano’ influencers. These often have fewer followers, but might be local to a child’s area or share a niche interest.
Girl gamers on the increase. Almost half of girls aged five to 15 now play games online – up from 39% in 2018. The proportion of boy gamers is unchanged at 71%, but boys spend twice as long playing online each week as girls.

Social Media use more fragmented

Older children are using a wider range of social media platforms than ever before. WhatsApp in particular has grown in popularity among 12-15 year-olds since last year, despite having a minimum age limit of 16.

WhatsApp is now used by almost two thirds of older children – up from 43% in 2018. For the first time, it rivals Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram as one of the top social media platforms for older children.

Newer platforms are also becoming more popular. Around one in seven older children use TikTok, which enables users to create and upload lip-sync, comedy and talent videos, while one in 20 older children uses Twitch, a live streaming platform for gamers.

Children’s viewing habits are changing radically too. Almost twice as many children watch streaming content than they did five years ago.

In 2019, fewer children watched traditional broadcast TV than streaming content, with a quarter not watching it at all.

But YouTube is as popular as ever, remaining children’s firm favourite for video ahead of Netflix, Amazon Prime, the BBC and ITV.

The age of digital independence

When it comes to going online, children are most likely to use a tablet but mobiles are becoming increasingly popular and children are now as likely to use a mobile as they are a laptop.

This move to mobile is being driven by older children, for whom 10 is becoming the age of digital independence. Between age nine and 10, the proportion of children who own a smartphone doubles to 50% – giving them greater digital freedom as they prepare to move to secondary school. By the time they are 15, almost all children have one.

“Today’s children have never known life without the internet, but two million parents now feel the internet causes them more harm than good, said Yih-Choung Teh, Ofcom’s Strategy and Research Group Director.

“So it’s encouraging that parents, carers and teachers are now having more conversations than ever before with children about online safety. Education and stronger regulation will also help children to embrace their digital independence, while protecting them from the risks”.

children-media-use-attitudes-2019-report

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