Some 19 million people in the UK now have access to the internet, according to the annual internet survey from Which? Online. This is equivalent to almost one-third of the UK population, although there is growing evidence that the growth in usage is declining.
The rate of increase in the internet population has slowed from 33% in 2000-2001 to just 11% in the last twelve months. Men still account for just over half of all users (54%) but the gender gap has narrowed since the end of the last decade, when two thirds of all surfers were male.
The report shows that the proportion of older users is increasing all the time but only 14% of internet users are over 55. Almost half of all users (46%) are aged between 15 and 34.
Despite government efforts to encourage internet usage throughout the country, class and geographical location remain important factors. 71% of all web users can be classified as ABC1 while almost half of the online population is based in the south of the country.
The study found that the average user is online for seven hours in an average week, one hour longer than last year. Educational, hobby, travel and shopping sites are the most popular destinations.
| Websites Visited By UK Internet Users |
| |
|
| Site Genre |
Users Visited (%) |
| Educational |
40 |
| Hobby related |
38 |
| Holiday |
25 |
| Shopping |
22 |
| Banking/personal finance |
19 |
| News |
19 |
| Map/travel direction |
17 |
| Sports |
13 |
| Price comparison |
10 |
| Recruitment |
10 |
| Chat rooms |
10 |
| Reunion |
9 |
| Directory services |
9 |
| Celebrity |
4 |
| Share dealing |
4 |
| Other |
15 |
| Source: Which? Online, July 2002 |
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