10 of the most interesting things from the latest #Ofcom report on UK #media use & attitudes

The 10 points below are what struck me as most interesting from the annual 2014 report published yesterday by Ofcom on Adults' (16+) Media Use and Attitudes in the UK.  

The report covers TV, radio, mobile, games, and the internet, with a particular focus on the latter.

1) How online are we now? - 83% of adults go online and 66% of them say they have a current social networking site profile (nearly all of them have one on Facebook and 30% of social networkers say they have a Twitter profile).  54% of online users say they watch TV programmes online. 

2) Smartphones & tablets - 62% of adults use a smartphone and 30% use a tablet

3) Younger people are more online - 98% of all 16-24s and 25-34s are now online 

4) But more older people are getting online - For 65-74 yr olds tablet use has trebled (from 2012 5% to 17%).  People in that age range are now almost twice as likely to use a smartphone now (from 2012 12% to 20%).  42% of those aged 65+ are now online..

5) Mobile usage continues to be strong - 55% of mobile users use email and visit social networking sites or apps, 48% of mobile phone users say they download apps on their mobile phone, around 40% use their phone for instant messaging, some 33% say they buy things and check their bank balance via their phone, 

6) Where do we get out info?  Among internet users, search engines are the most important information source (93%), followed by online recommendations (39%) and user reviews (36%). 

7) Non-users - 12% of people say that they don't have access to the internet at hone

8) Admin online - 61% say they complete government processes online,

9) Attitudes to online freedom - 44% of internet users agree with the statement: "I should be free to say and do as I want online"

10) Attitudes to online protection - 82% agree that "internet users must be protected from inappropriate or offensive content"