This month, the Office for National Statistics released details of its Internet Access 2008: Households and Individuals. The 2008 figures show an increase of 1.23 million in users from 2007 - now 16.46 million UK households have internet access . The percentage of households with broadband connectivity is 86%. Since 2004, Great Britain has seen approximately 1 million households go online year on year:
Source: Office for National Statistics
Looking at the statistics from a regional perspective, and the South East and London has the highest percentage of households with internet access:
|
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
|
| South East |
66 |
65 |
74 |
|
London |
63 |
69 |
73 |
| East of England |
64 |
67 |
70 |
| South West |
59 |
69 |
67 |
| Yorks & Humber |
52 |
52 |
62 |
| East Midlands |
55 |
59 |
61 |
| West Midlands |
53 |
56 |
61 |
| North West |
54 |
56 |
56 |
| North East |
54 |
52 |
54 |
| Wales |
52 |
57 |
67 |
| England |
59 |
61 |
66 |
| Scotland |
48 |
60 |
61 |
| NI |
50 |
52 |
56 |
| UK |
57 |
61 |
65 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
What is interesting from the survey is that the number of households still without an internet connection is around 8 million - 35% of the household total. Campaigners for age-related charities are concerned - saying that elderly consumers with limited budgets are being excluded by society and are unable to take advantage of competitive prices on the web.
David Sinclair, head of policy at Help the Aged is quoted as saying: "This is not only about getting cheap car insurance online. It is about equality in the marketplace. We know internet access can mean a difference of hundreds of pounds over the year from deals on utility bills, food to all manner of other goods. In a time when costs are rising, should we not allow the poorest amongst us a chance to keep afloat?"
The figures show that 70% of the 65+ age cohort (around 7 million people) have never gone online compared to 33% of the 55 to 64's and 17% of those aged 45 to 54 - the difference is staggering and charities are lobbying the Government to do more.
The survey also found that more households are actively choosing not to go online - of those 8 million homes without access, around 2 million said they had no interest in signing up to internet services at home. The remainder said that either they didn't understand the internet or could not afford to buy a computer. The chart below shows what reasons householders gave for not getting connected:
The most popular activity for the majority of users was sending and received emails (87%). The chart below summaries key activities by age group - but notably 35% of 16-24 year olds use the internet for look for jobs or sending job applications, 71% of 55-64 year olds use the internet for travel searches, and 39% of the 25-44 age bracket look for health advice.
Internet activities of recent UK Internet users, by age, 2008
|
16-24 |
25-44 |
45-54 |
55-64 |
65+ |
All |
|
|
Sending/receiving emails |
91 |
87 |
85 |
86 |
89 |
87 |
|
Finding information about goods or services |
77 |
87 |
86 |
85 |
75 |
84 |
|
Using services related to travel and accommodation |
50 |
65 |
68 |
71 |
61 |
63 |
|
Downloading software |
55 |
38 |
30 |
25 |
25 |
37 |
|
Reading or downloading online news, magazines |
54 |
50 |
46 |
42 |
35 |
48 |
|
Looking for a job or sending a job application |
35 |
33 |
18 |
11 |
-- |
25 |
|
Seeking health-related information |
22 |
39 |
36 |
35 |
26 |
34 |
|
Internet banking |
43 |
57 |
46 |
44 |
34 |
49 |
|
Selling of goods or services (e.g. via auctions) |
17 |
24 |
17 |
14 |
-- |
19 |
|
Looking for information - education, training, courses |
44 |
37 |
26 |
16 |
-- |
31 |
|
Consulting the Internet with the purpose of learning |
43 |
33 |
31 |
23 |
19 |
32 |
Source: Office for National Statistics
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