More people accessed internet during pandemic

Household internet connectivity was highest for the Dublin region.

(PA) (PA Archive)

Irish people’s lives have become more digital, with more people accessing the internet more frequently on a daily basis, a survey has found.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) found that the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in more people working from home and relying on digital services.

In its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) household survey, it also found that the majority of online users access the internet on their mobile phone.

It found that more than one third of daily internet users are almost constantly online.

More than a third of daily internet users use it all the time or nearly all the time, up six percentage points from 2020.

This year, more than one quarter of younger people aged 16 to 29 years used the internet all the time.

The majority of internet users use a smartphone or mobile phone to go online, while three quarters use a laptop

Household internet connectivity was highest for the Dublin region (96%), compared with the border and mid-west regions, both at 89%.

Household internet access was mainly via fixed broadband with the Dublin region having the highest fixed broadband connection at 92%, compared with the west and border regions, at 78% and 75% of households respectively.

The Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped Irish life in so many ways, not least in terms of the frequency of usage of ICT and how we use it.

Maureen Delamere

Statistician Maureen Delamere said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped Irish life in so many ways, not least in terms of the frequency of usage of ICT and how we use it.

“Our everyday lives are becoming far more digital, and in 2021, we were online more than ever, working from home and relying on technology and digital services.”

At an overall level, nine in 10 people aged 16 years and older were recent users of the internet, an increase of one percentage point from 2020.

Of recent internet users, nearly nine in 10 went online every day or almost every day.

Just 8% of people aged 16 years and older had never used the internet.

In 2021, more than half of younger people aged 16 to 29 years used the internet almost constantly – 26% used it all the time, while a further 28% used it nearly all the time.

Students were the most frequent users of the internet in 2021.

The majority of internet users use a smartphone or mobile phone to go online, while three quarters use a laptop (PA) (PA Wire)

Nearly all students used the internet every day or almost every day. Of these daily internet users, 46% used the internet several times a day, while a further 36% of students used the internet nearly all the time and nearly one in 10 used the internet all the time.

Practically all households of two or more adults and children use a smartphone or mobile phone to access the internet.

For younger internet users in the 16-29 years age group, they used a mix of devices but by far, they mainly used such devices as smart TVs, smart speakers, game consoles, e-book readers, smart watches.

Ms Delamere added: “The vast majority of households have internet connectivity.

“Of households with no internet access, the most common reason was that they did not need the internet, followed by lack of skills or knowledge.

“Nearly one in 10 of these households with no internet access stated that broadband internet was not available in their area.”