Web Use is Changing in UK

The UK's Internet population has grown to an estimated 18 million adults according to new data released by BMRB. The latest Internet Monitor research also shows that people are using the web less for work-related purposes and more for fun and relaxation.

The findings overall reveal a gradually changing picture of the activities people use the web for and the types of sites they visit. Most genres of site have enjoyed a recent increase in activity over the year to November 2001. The proportion of all adult Internet users who have looked for job opportunities online, for example, has risen by 1 million in actual terms over the 12 months to last November. In proportionate terms, this group of job-seekers has remained steady at just over a third of all adult users.

Analysing the proportion of Internet users associated with each type of site is also revealing. The data shows that, on average, people are using the web less for work-related purposes and more for fun and relaxation. Those using the web for 'business purposes in the past 6 months' has fallen from 43% to 40% over the period. Those using it for school or college work has fallen more sharply from 42% to 36%.

In contrast, the research indicates that leisure-related online activities (such as planning travel, communicating with friends, playing games and watching video clips) are all increasing in popularity. Of all of these online pastimes, game playing has arguably become the most successful, rising from 25% of net users in November 2000 to 31% in November 2001.

Shopping and banking sites were much more popular at the end of 2001 than at the start. In November 2001, over two thirds (68%) of visitors had been to a shopping site, up from 57% on 2000. The rise in popularity of banking sites was even greater still, up from 29% to 41%. These changes have been partly explained by the improving quality and reliability of what was on offer in November 2001 compared to that a year earlier. There was also a consolidation of websites last year resulting in the rise of the longer established brands and high street names.

BMRB analysis suggests that these latest research findings point to the underlying influence of the broadening Internet user profile. For example, an ever-growing proportion of those online are female, upmarket and aged over 45. Amongst other things, these changes help to explain the fall in visits to football sites, use of stocks and shares monitoring and general online business searching.

The latest figures come from Wave 18 of BMRB's Internet Monitor. 1,001 Internet users, representative of all GB Internet users, were interviewed by telephone in November 2001.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.