Consumers Use Web To “Pass Time”

The survey looked at gender, age, internet experience and home broadband access when examining consumers’ broadband habits, finding that men are significantly more likely to surf “for fun” on a daily basis than women.

Web surfing was found to be more popular among younger users.

Time spent surfing the internet was also shown to correlate with internet experience. The survey found the more years of internet experience, the more likely users are to browse for fun on a typical day.

The research found that 36% of internet users with six or more years of experience will surf for no particular reason on an average day, compared to less than a quarter with not as much internet experience.

Respondents who had broadband access at home were found to be more likely than those with dial-up to use the web for fun, with 72% using the web this way, compared to 63% of those with dial-up.

Recent data from Ipsos Public Affairs showed that 37% of online households in the US used dial-up by December 2005, compared to 61% using broadband (see Consumers Still Use Dial-Up).

New estimates from the Yankee Group claim that dial-up will gradually decline over the rest of the decade, accounting for less than 20 million online households by 2009, representing less than 30% of all households with internet access. Broadband is expected to gain from dial-up’s decline as well as attracting new internet subscribers.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project attributes increased surfing on the internet to growth in household broadband penetration, with higher speed connections making internet surfing easier.

Growth in web content and more applications have also fuelled this trend, resulting in a greater variety of experiences for people with different interests to enjoy.

WPP’s recent Ogilvyone Report revealed that Europe has overtaken North America as the second largest broadband market in the world (see Europe Pushes Broadband Uptake Forward).

According to the report, by the end of 2006, the top three countries in terms of broadband penetration will be the Netherlands at 56%, Switzerland with 51% and Denmark at 49%.

Total online household penetration in Western Europe is forecast to reach 63% by 2010, with 93% of online households expected to use broadband to access the internet.