People Are Spending More Time Online—and They're Not Happy About It
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered much about life, particularly how much of it takes place online. The transition of formerly in-person activities to the internet has been going on since it launched, but the pandemic accelerated this trend.
Wanting to capture the zeitgeist in numbers, HighSpeedInternet.com conducted a study of 1,000 Americans(Opens in a new window) about the time they now spend online and what they do during that time. It found that although there are some annoying tasks people would just rather do online, they’d much prefer to interact with people in real life.
Though telehealth has been a literal lifeline at times during the pandemic, most people (63%) would rather see a doctor in person. When it comes to more fun things, like socializing, they’d rather do so in real life than online with their friends (58%) or coworkers (36%). Even some of the little things in life are more enjoyable when they’re not digital—such as shopping for groceries (67%), home goods (50%), and clothing (48%).
And of course, some activities are more convenient online, and people prefer to do so, including paying bills (67%) and banking (61%).
One thing those who took the survey said they were doing a lot less of since the pandemic is going out. Sixty percent said they now stay home more often. That leads to more time where else? That’s right: online. Respondents said they’ve increased how much time they use the internet in general (53%), spend on their phones (48%), stream shows and movies (48%), shop online (47%), and video-chat (44%).
On average, people spend eight active hours a day online. But according to HighSpeedInternet.com’s findings, they’re not always happy about it.
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