Information Society Statistics - Households 2020

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of the year, the Government put in place measures on social distancing (closure of schools, workplaces, etc.). These measures changed how we lived our lives in Ireland in 2020. An estimated 89% of individuals were recent internet users (used the internet in the three months prior to the interview). There was a decrease of three percentage points in those who have never used the internet – 8% of individuals compared with 11% in 2019. See Table 2.1.

Of persons surveyed whose principal economic status was At work, 96% used the internet within the previous three months. See Table 2.1.

Over eight in every ten (81%) of recent internet users used the internet every day, an increase of two percentage points on 2019. See Table 2.2.

Of the 16 to 29 years age category, most internet users (96%) accessed the internet daily. Similarly, 95% of persons aged 30 to 44 years used the internet every day. Almost six in ten (59%) of persons aged 60 to 74 years accessed it daily while nearly three in every ten (28%) older persons aged 75 years and over accessed the internet every day or almost every day. See Table 2.2.

There is little difference between the percentage of females and males who were daily internet users, 83% of females compared with 79% of males. Nearly all (97%) Students use the internet daily, compared with just 53% of persons whose principal economic status was Home duties. Nearly eight in every ten (78%) Retired persons use the internet daily. See Table 2.2.

Of those persons who were daily internet users, nearly half (49%) used the internet Several times a day, while one in five (20%) used the internet Nearly all the time (an increase of four percentage points on 2019). Almost one in ten (9%) stated that they used the internet All the time, an increase of six percentage points on 2019. See Table 2.3.

Younger daily internet users age 16 to 29 years used the internet most frequently throughout the day. One in seven (15%) used the internet All the time, while over three in every ten (31%) accessed the internet Nearly all the time, and 44% accessed it Several times a day. Similarly, the frequency of daily internet access was high in the 30 to 44 years age category. Over one in eight (13%) of daily internet users aged 30 to 44 years, used the internet All the time, while a further one quarter (24%) of daily internet users in this age group used the internet Nearly all the time, and nearly half (49%) used the internet Several times a day. Half of daily internet users aged 45 to 74 years used the internet Several times a day, while 47% of daily internet users aged 75 years and over accessed the internet Several times a day. See Table 2.3 and Figure 2.1.

Of daily internet users surveyed whose principal economic status was At Work, almost half (48%) used the internet Several times a day, while nearly one quarter (23%) used the internet Nearly all the time and 12% used the internet All the time. See Table 2.3.

As part of the suite of Government measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, all schools, pre-schools and further and higher education settings were closed from mid March to the end of June. In order to minimise the impact on teaching and learning, all schools were asked to continue to plan lessons and, where possible, provide online resources for students or online lessons where schools were equipped to do so.  Students were the most frequent users of the internet in 2020. Nearly all Students (97%) used the internet Every day or almost every day. Of these daily internet users, 47% used the internet Several times a day while a further 34% of Students used the internet Nearly all the time and one in ten (10%) used the internet All the time. These are increases on 2019 levels of usage, when 54% used the internet Several times a day, but used it 31% Nearly all the time and just 5% All the time. See Tables 2.2 and 2.3 and Figure 2.2.