Is the world addicted to being online? New study reveals countries most addicted to their screens
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The Philippines named as the country most addicted to their screens, with the country spending a whopping 10 hours per day on the internet.
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Japan spent the least amount of time online, averaging around 3 hours and 45 minutes per day.
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The UK took 22nd place, with Brits spending around five hours and 46 minutes online per day, whilst the USA took 12th place.
New research by BusinessFibre.co.uk reveals the countries who spend the most time on their screens, along with insights into which gender and age groups tend to spend more time online. To take a look at the research, click here.
Who spends more time online?
The Philippines has been named as the country who use the internet the most, with people spending an average of 10 hours a day online – the highest amount of time across all countries measured. The country spent nearly five hours a day on mobile interest, whilst spending just over five hours on desktops, laptops or tablets.
Brazil, Colombia, and Thailand all followed closely behind the Southeast Asian country, with all of them spending more than nine hours a day on the internet.
Japan spent the least amount of time online globally, with the average only being three hours and 45 minutes per day – they were also found to have the lowest amount of time spent across mobile and desktop, despite 94% of the population having access to the internet.
Solely looking at the amount of time spent online, the worldwide average is six hours and 42 minutes, but 17 countries surpassed this, and when measuring all metrics, 34 countries were above the worldwide average.
The UK spent up to five hours and 46 minutes a day on the internet, whilst the USA spent slightly more time online, around six hours and 31 minutes per day. When measured across all metrics, the UK came 22nd place in the internet index whilst the USA came 12th.
The UAE has the highest amount of people using the internet overall, with 99% of people in the UAE having access, in comparison, the world average was around 57% (which was also shared by China). Despite having the second-largest population in the world, only 41% of people use the internet.
Age and gender
With younger generations more likely to use modern technology and older generations having to adapt, we take a look at which age groups are more likely to use the internet in both the UK and USA.
99.4% of the UK’s 25-34-year-olds use the internet, making it the age group that uses it the most. This was closely followed by 16-24-year-olds, with 99.2%. Interestingly, 83.2% of 65-74-year-olds in the UK use the internet, but this dramatically declines for the 75+ with only 46.8% of them going online.
Across the pond, 100% of American 18-29-year-olds use the internet, with this just dropping to 73% for 65+-year-olds.
The research from the UK and USA also revealed there was little difference between the genders when it came to internet usage. In the UK, 92% of men used the internet compared to 89.6% of women, whilst in the USA, 89% of men used the internet and 88% of women did.
Children and workers in the UK
Engineers spent more time on their screens compared to IT Specialists by just 10 more minutes each day, research revealed. It was found employees in these professions could spend more than 18 hours a day on their screens across work, commuting and home.
Accountants were found to spend more than 13 hours a day, whilst teachers could spend up to nearly 12 and a half hours at a time.
Increasingly a number of parents are becoming worried about the amount of time their children are spending online. In efforts to pacify children or aid learning, tablets are often used but there is a lot of discussion around the safety of children online and whether it can affect their overall development.
In the UK it was found that 3-4-year-olds could spend up to 8 hours a day with 53% of them being online, whilst 5-7-year-olds spend up to 9 hours a day and 79% of them using the internet.
Tips for reducing screen time
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Don’t look at your phone first thing in the morning and the last thing at night – Research has shown how blue light technology can affect sleeping patterns and repeated use can cause eye strain, take breaks and enjoy some me-time.
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Limit the amount of time you spend on your apps – Many phones, such as the iPhone have a handy feature where you can limit the amount of time you spend on each app. During this time, learn a new skill, read a book or go for a walk to clear your mind.
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Avoid using your phone at dinner time – It can be hard not to check that notification when your phone vibrates, but during dinner time set some time aside to get away from the constant stream of information from your Twitter or Instagram feed. Enjoy your home-cooked meal or have a conversation with someone.
Ian Wright of BusinessFibre.co.uk stated:“In a world where we can access unlimited amounts of information in just a few clicks has revolutionised our lives. Not only has the internet and computer technology changed the way we work, our levels of productivity and how we see the world – it has also changed the way we communicate with people. This research gives an insight into countries that rely on the internet heavily, and whether there’s a limit of when you can or cannot be addicted to the internet.”
Screen time
To see which countries are spending the most or least amount online, or to view the list in more detail you can take a look at BusinessFibre.co.uk’s new tool here.
