Household Digital Consumer Behaviour 2021

This chapter outlines the type of internet activities internet users engage in, some of which no doubt, as the survey was conducted in the first two quarters of 2021, was influenced by the general societal response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Email is the most popular activity carried out on the internet - 93% of internet users surveyed in 2021 used email. In 2021, it was also the most popular internet activity carried out by both males and females – 91% of males and 94% of females. Email was also the most popular internet activity for internet users across all age groups. Close to all (96%) internet users aged between 30 and 59 years used email in the previous three months. See Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in remote working from home where possible. Nearly all (96%) internet users whose principal economic status was At work used email. In 2021, 86% of Students used email. See Table 2.1.

In 2021, eight in ten (80%) internet users used internet telephoning/video calls (Skype, Zoom, etc.). Females were more likely than males to use VoIP – 87% of females compared with 74% of males. See Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

Reading or downloading online news (including online news sites, newspapers or magazines) was reported by 83% of internet users. See Table 2.1.

Nearly eight in ten (78%) internet users used internet or mobile banking (includes PayPal, Revolut, etc.) in 2021. The age group that was most likely to use internet banking was the 30 to 44 years age group (84%), compared with 70% of internet users aged between 60 and 74 years. See Table 2.1.

Instant messaging such as via Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber was reported by 84% of internet users. However, the survey results tell us that it was for persons aged between 30 and 59 years for whom this activity was most prevalent – 91% of persons aged 30 to 44 years and 88% of internet users in the 45 to 59 years age group. Females also tended to use instant messaging more than males – 87% of females compared with 82% of males. See Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

People can choose social networking (includes creating user profiles, posting messages or other contributions to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, etc.) to communicate with friends, family, work and school groups, etc. with seven in ten (70%) internet users engaged in such communication channels. The data shows that the younger one is, the more likely you are to use social networking. Almost nine in ten (89%) persons aged 16 to 29 years communicated on social network platforms, compared with 85% of persons aged 30 to 44 years and 72% of persons in the 45 to 59 years age group. Just 45% of internet users aged 60 to 74 years used social networking platforms to communicate. See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

Two thirds (67%) of internet users reported seeking health related information. Females were more likely than males to go online to look up health related information – 71% of females compared with 63% of males. See Table 2.2.

Over one in five (22%) internet users went online to look for a job or to submit a job application. Similar numbers of males and females carried out this online activity – 22% of males and 21% of females. See Table 2.2.

Just over one in five (21%) internet users expressed opinions online (on websites or in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) on civic or political issues. Analysis by age shows that younger persons were more likely to engage in this type of internet activity – 31% of 16-29 years olds compared with just one in ten (10%) persons in the 60 to 74 years age group who used the internet in the previous three months. One in seven (14%) internet users took part in online consultations or voting (to define civic or political issues such as urban planning, signing a petition, etc.). See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

In 2021, one in six (16%) bought or renewed existing insurance policies online in the previous three months. This includes those offered as a package together with another service (e.g. travel insurance offered together with a plane ticket). In 2021, males were more likely to carry out this activity online – 17% of males compared with 14% of females. See Table 2.3.

Only 6% of older persons aged 60 to 74 years and over bought or renewed insurance policies online. Some persons may choose to let their policy automatically renew or renew their policy/update it/buy a new one over the phone or in writing. By comparison, nearly one third (32%) of younger persons aged between 16 and 29 years, and nearly one quarter (24%) of internet users in the 30 to 44 years age group bought or renewed insurance policies online. See Table 2.3 and Figure 2.3.

Just 6% of persons bought or sold shares/bonds online. Males were far more likely to carry out this activity online – one in ten (10%) males bought or sold shares/bonds online compared with only 3% of females. Conversely, females were more likely to take out a loan or mortgage online or arranged credit from banks online – 8% of females compared with just 4% of males. At an overall level, just 6% of internet users carried out this activity online. See Table 2.3.