Nearly half of British adults have used a paid online TV streaming service in the past three months, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). That’s up from 29% from 2016 − the last time the nation’s habits were assessed.
In all, 46% of adults have used the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Now TV in the last 90 days, while the number who had watched anything on YouTube jumped from 47% to 62%.
Related: Netflix vs Amazon Prime Instant Video
Other major jumps in this period include listening to streamed music (up 9% to 58%), selling goods or services (up 7% to 25%) and using internet banking (up 9% to 69%).
Despite these big leaps, however, boring old email remains the most common activity on the internet, with 84% of adults having sent or received messages in the last three months.
The change in behaviour doesn’t correspond to a higher uptake in internet access in people’s homes, as that figure has stayed static at 90%. However, 2018 does mark the first time that the ONS found every house with children that was surveyed had some kind of internet access.
There were some interesting gender-based splits in the ONS’ findings too. Women were more likely to use the internet for social networking of some kind, the report found, with 69% of women using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or the like compared to 60% of men. Researching health-related information also proved more popular among women (59%) than men (50%).
Related: Spotify vs Apple Music
YouTube use, however, is more popular with men (69%) than women (56%). Men are also more commonly found downloading and playing games, with 36% of men compared to 26% of women.
Do these figures surprise you? Would you expect them to be higher or lower? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
