More than 9 million UK adults have never used the Internet, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
This compares with just over 38 million UK adults who were Internet users, and of those, just over 30 million accessed the Internet every day or almost every day.
People who were more likely to have never used the Internet were the over 65s, the widowed, those on low incomes and those with no formal qualifications.
The Internet Access survey of households and individuals, which measures home access to the Internet and individuals’ use of the Internet across the UK showed that in 2010:
• 19.2 million households (73 per cent) had Internet access, an
increase of 0.9 million on the previous year and an increase of 5 million since 2006
• 31 per cent of Internet users connected via a mobile phone, up from
23 per cent in 2009
• 31 million people bought or ordered goods or services online in the
last 12 months
• 98 per cent of people with an income over £41,600 had used the
Internet. The rate of Internet use decreased in line with income: 69 per cent of adults with an income of less than £10,399 had used the Internet
• 45 per cent of adults without any formal qualifications had used the
Internet, compared with 97 per cent of those with a degree
Mark Williams from the Office for National Statistics said: “Since 2006 we have seen a significant increase in the number of people using the Internet, with the number of adults accessing the Internet every day almost doubling to just over 30 million, though the UK is some way off from being completely online. Usage is closely linked with a number of socio-economic and demographic indicators with those less educated and on lower incomes less likely to access the web.
“We have also seen changes in the way people connect and in the frequency of connection, with 31 per cent of Internet users connecting via a mobile phone in 2010 compared with 23 per cent in 2009. The use of wi-fi hotspots continued to rise with 2.7 million people (7 per cent of Internet users) used wireless hotspots at locations such as cafes, restaurants, and hotels.”
Other findings in the survey showed that just over 17 million adults watched television or listened to the radio over the Internet, with men more likely to do this, at 52 per cent, compared with 39 per cent of women.
Many of these used on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer or ITV Player.
London was once again the region with the highest level of household Internet connections, at 83 per cent. The North East had the lowest at 59 per cent.
Source: http://www.ons.gov.uk