Ofcom: Network Nation 2020

The UK Communications Office (Ofcom) has released a new report, "Network Nation 2020", which shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in internet usage in the UK. During the UK lockdown, adults spent an average of 4 hours and 2 minutes online per day, accounting for about 25% of their waking day. This is in stark contrast to the slightly less than 3.5 hours of online time in September last year.

More people are turning to video services

In April, short video-sharing platform TikTok attracted 12.9 million British adults, up from 5.4 million in January; visits to Twitch, a live streaming platform for gamers, increased from 2.3 million to 4.2 million.

During the lockdown, the House Party app saw usage increase from 175,000 in January to 4 million in April. However, the biggest increase was for video conferencing platform Zoom: users increased from 659,000 to 13 million over the same period, an increase of almost 2,000%.

Platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok are hugely popular. 90% of adults, and almost 100% of children aged 8-15, have used at least one of these platforms in the past year, with many visiting several times a day. A third of UK internet users (32%) now spend more time consuming video sharing content than watching broadcast TV.

But Thinkbox, a UK-based commercial TV marketing agency, said it was misleading to draw a direct parallel between video-sharing services and broadcast TV.

Brits aren’t just watching. Two in five adults (40%) and 59% of children now use the video-sharing platform to create and upload their own videos. For many, vlogging is also a way to make money, with 17% of adults receiving money or gifts in return for making and sharing videos. More and more children are considering becoming a ‘YouTuber’ as a potential career.