The British now spend more time on the internet than watching television, according to a survey published on Wednesday by internet search engine Google.
The report showed that British internet users spend an average of 164 minutes online daily — the equivalent of 41 days a year — compared with 148 minutes watching television.
Men spend on average 172 minutes on the web daily, and women 156 minutes.
Londoners and Scots are the most dedicated net users, according to the survey, carried out by the TNS institute last month and involving 1 030 adults aged 16 to 64.
A major activity is online shopping, which accounts for an average annual spend of £446 (about R4 860) per user.
The increasing use of computers at the workplace, coupled with improved technology allowing broadband connections in private homes, is the main reason for the internet’s domination, the report said.
Ofcom, the British telecommunications regulator, last month noted a slight drop in television audiences since late 2003.
There are now more than 10-million broadband connections in the United Kingdom, according to Ofcom. Broadband as a consumer product had grown from zero to 10-million in just more than seven years. — AFP