Internet usage rockets as nation studies, works and plays at home
● Online gaming and streaming video content has increased broadband use – while video calling has more than doubled
The number of hours the averagescottishhouseholdspends on the internet has jumped by more than a quarter to 35.5 hours a week as a result of the lockdown, a report has found.
The study found the rise was driven by the amount of time spent on video calls, which more than doubled. Meanwhile, the time people say they spend online working has risen by 60 per cent. Use of online video games and streaming has also risen as people turn online to keep them entertained at home.
The average household has eight web-connected gadgets, with up to five devices using the internet at the same time, according to the report from uswitch.com. The amount of time spent streaming content on apps such as Netflix and Youtube has risen by a fifth to nearly seven hours a week.
Uk-wide, before the lockdown, households spent the bulk of their online time – seven hours – browsing social media. With millions of people now forced to stay at home, working online now takes up the lion’s share of internet usage – at 8.5 hours a week, a rise of two thirds.
Regional data shows that Edinburgh residents spend more time online than those in Glasgow, however, racking up 36.3 hours compared to 34.8 hours. In Glasgow, households have not reported any rise in the amount of time spent studying online, while the average home in Edinburgh has seen broadband use for study rise by 37 per cent. Across Scotland, study time online has gone up by 18 per cent to 3.3 hours.
Total post-lockdown internet usage in Scotland is lower than the UK average of 41 hours, at 35.5 hours per week.
The study found that the increased demands on broadband has resulted in households experiencing problems with their connection, with one in five reporting issues they do not usually suffer.
Some problems could be speed-related, with more than a third of households with an ADSL connections experiencing problems, compared to just one in five of those with a superfast connection, and only one in eight of those with an ultrafast connection.
Half of those reporting problems said their connection kept cutting out, while a third could not even connect in the first place, and a third found streaming videos keep buffering.
Adelana Carty, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said: “The lockdown is testing households’ broadband conference
“It’s already a very challenging time, but having a reliable broadband connection can at least give a bit more stability”
ADELANA CARTY