6. Internet use

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Trends in household ICT use. Source: CSO Information Society statistics first results 2008, sample 39,000 per quarter

If you’re male, live in Dublin and in rented accommodation, are between the ages of 25-34 and belong to the top AB social group, chances are you’re part of the top band of internet users.That means that you spend 11 hours or more on the Internet in a given week.

Heavy users are more likely to have broadband and not a package from the market leader Eircom. Most users regard surfing as a leisure-time pursuit and have a positive attitude to how technology has impacted on their lives.

Four out of five of those surveyed on behalf of ComReg believe that technology has impacted positively on their quality of life.

The profile of heavy internet users correlates with that from another source, TGI Ireland, as shown in the Internet power user graphic in the autumn 2008 issue of State of the Net.

Time online per week. Source: ComReg Consumer ICT Survey, February 2009. Based on a sample od 1,002 adults aged 15 to 74

Meanwhile, CSO data – with a far larger sample size – illustrates the acceleration in both PC ownership and broadband connections among consumers. In 2008, 70% of households had a computer, compared with 55% in 2005, while 43% had broadband connections, compared with just 7% back in 2005.

Back to the contents of State of the Net issue 12