UK web population approaches 40 million

 

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Posted on 30 Jun 2010 at 14:24

The UK’s internet population is on track to hit 40 million next year after a report from UK Online Measurement Company (UKOM) was published.

The overall number of UK internet users grew from 36.9 million in May 2009 to 38.8 million a year later – a rise of 1.9 million.

Silver surfers – web users over the age of 50 – are the largest single demographic group among the UK’s internet population, with a 31 per cent share. Of the newly connected users, UKOM estimates that 722,000 of them were men over the age of 50 and 284,000 were women over-50s, accounting for more than half of those who used the internet for the first time.

Outside of the over 50s, women between the age of 21 and 34 were the next biggest growth area with 14 per cent of newly connected users. Girls between 12 and 20 connecting for the first time were another growth area with a 12 per cent share.

“There is still a perception that the net is youth-centric but this is clearly not the reality,” said Nielsen analyst Alex Burmaster in an interview with the BBC. “The fact that one in four Britons who use the internet today are 50 to 64 years old proves it is no longer the sole preserve of the young and technical ‘literati’.

“This age group have a wide appetite when it comes to the types of sites they are using to supplement the interests and needs they have in their daily lives,” added Burmaster. “Consequently, a number of brands across a range of industries, particularly travel, are showing the rest what a valuable medium online is when it comes to reaching a desired audience who haven’t grown up with the internet.”

89 per cent of the newly connected silver surfers regularly visited RealAge, a health check website, while 80 per cent visited video hosting website Flixxy and 78 per cent were regularly attracted to community site Saga.

Author: Tim Smalley