Type of Internet Activities Information Society Statistics - Households 2020

Email use is the most popular internet activity

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Home schooling and remote working from home has had an effect on the ICT usage of individuals since the introduction of the measures introduced as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Email is now the most popular activity carried out on the internet - 86% of internet users surveyed in 2020 used email, an increase of two percentage points on 2019. In 2020, email was the most popular internet activity carried out by both males and females (both at 86%). Email was also the most popular internet activity for internet users in the 16 to 29 and 30 to 44 years age groups, both at 93%, while over eight in ten (82%) of internet users aged 45 to 74 years used email. See Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people are remote working from home where possible. Nearly nine out of every ten (89%) of internet users whose principal economic status was At work used email, while email was the most popular internet activity for 82% of Retired persons (who used the internet in the previous three months) and internet users whose principal economic status was Home duties. See Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months classified by types of internet activities, 2020

Table 3.1 Individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months classified by types of internet activities, 2020
% of individuals
	Types of internet activity
	Email¹	Finding information on goods and services	Instant messaging²	Internet banking	Reading or downloading online news	Internet telephoning/ video calls³	Watching video content from sharing services	Social networking⁴	Seeking health related information⁵	Listening to music⁶
State	86	79	79	76	75	73	68	69	66	59

Sex
Male	86	81	76	78	78	69	74	61	60	63
Female	86	77	82	74	71	76	63	70	69	55

Age group
16-29	[93]	[86]	[83]	[84]	[71]	[91]	[79]	[81]	[75]	[77]
30-44	93	85	89	87	83	82	84	81	80	74
45-59	82	77	78	75	75	72	64	66	62	55
60-74	82	73	70	63	62	62	54	48	52	43
Over 75	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Principal economic status
At work	89	83	84	82	80	77	74	71	68	66
Unemployed	80	71	75	71	61	77	60	61	83	37
Student	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Home duties	82	68	69	59	62	60	53	48	49	43
Retired	82	81	75	70	63	79	61	65	69	54
Other	79	73	74	68	70	67	62	68	58	55

Region
Border	84	81	86	74	73	76	74	70	61	59
Midland	82	81	73	71	59	70	52	65	76	35
West	83	74	69	69	66	59	69	57	65	54
Dublin	88	81	84	80	80	80	70	65	68	70
Mid-East	85	80	79	78	75	75	71	65	65	59
Mid-West	83	76	71	68	66	64	66	69	61	53
South-East	86	80	80	77	75	69	70	75	68	56
South-West	88	75	83	75	75	75	62	68	61	52

Household composition
1 adult no dependent children	83	74	73	68	71	65	63	60	54	55
2 adults no dependent children	85	79	80	73	72	67	61	53	59	53
3 or more adults no dependent children	77	69	77	67	66	72	61	65	61	50
1 adult with dependent children	89	86	87	88	80	85	82	78	85	80
2 adults with dependent children	93	84	84	86	77	81	76	78	78	66
3 or more adults with dependent children	88	88	83	83	85	85	68	73	74	52

Deprivation quintile
First quintile - very disadvantaged	76	73	74	66	68	71	65	63	66	48
Second quintile - disadvantaged	89	80	74	78	70	69	68	66	58	54
Third quintile - average	88	77	81	69	73	71	64	73	64	54
Fourth quintile - affluent	86	77	82	82	73	76	69	65	66	64
Fifth quintile - very affluent	90	86	86	82	83	79	71	65	73	71
¹Includes sending and receiving emails.
²Exchanging messages for example via Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber.
³Includes Skype and Facetime.
⁴Examples include creating user profiles, posting messages or other contributions to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp etc.
⁵Seeking health related information examples include injury, disease, nutrition, improving health etc.
⁶Includes web radio and music streaming.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16 years and over who used the internet in the previous 3 months.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e. less than 30.
Note 4: Figures in parentheses [ ] indicate percentages based on small numbers, and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics - Households 2020 Table 3.1 (XLS 15KB)

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	2020
Email	86
Finding information on goods and services	79
Instant messaging	79
Internet banking	76
Reading or downloading online news	75
Internet telephoning/ video calls	73
Watching video content from sharing services	68
Social networking	69
Seeking health related information	66
Listening to music	59

Large increase in the use of video calls / internet telephoning

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On-site education was not possible in the period covered by this survey (Q1 & Q2 2020) as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in more online education. In addition, some, extra-curricular activities such as music lessons, dance lessons, gymnastics classes, etc. were carried out using internet telephoning or video calls like Zoom. 2020 has seen a large increase in the use of internet telephoning/video calls (Skype, Zoom, etc.) – 73% of internet users having carried out this internet activity in 2020 compared with 48% of internet users using this form of communication in 2019. See Table 3.1 for 2020 data and see link for 2019 data for reference.

Seven in ten internet users social networking

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Three quarters (75%) of internet users reported Reading or downloading online news (including online news sites, newspapers or magazines), an increase of two percentage points on the corresponding figure for 2019. People also chose 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 69% of internet users engaged in such communication channels, an increase of one percentage point on 2019. See Table 3.1 for 2020 data and see link for 2019 data for reference.

Sharing or publishing self-created videos, photos, music, texts etc. on a website or via app was carried out by four in ten (40%) internet users in 2020, an increase of one percentage point on 2019. See Table 3.2 for 2020 data and see link for 2019 data for reference.

More people banking online

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With the closure of banks and other financial institutions, the use of internet banking and mobile banking increased. Over three quarters (76%) of internet users used Internet banking in 2020 compared with 73% in 2019, an increase of three percentage points. See Table 3.1 for 2020 data and see link for 2019 data for reference.

Increase in numbers seeking health related information online

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With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, people were going online to find health related information and to access health services. Two thirds (66%) of internet users reported Seeking health related information, an increase of three percentage points on 2019. See Table 3.1 for 2020 data and see link for 2019 data for reference.

New categories relating to accessing health services online, were introduced to the survey in 2020. These include Making an appointment with a practitioner (such as to get a prescription), Accessing personal health records online, and Using other health services (via a website or app, instead of visiting a doctor). One in six (16%) of internet users used the internet for Making an appointment with a practitioner (such as to get a prescription), 4% Accessing personal health records online, while one in twelve (8%) reported Using other health services (via a website or app, instead of visiting a doctor). See Table 3.1.

Over half of internet users watching VoD (Netflix, Disney+, etc.)

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With more people having to stay at home during the period covered by this survey, more people are using the internet for entertainment purposes. Nearly seven in every ten (68%) of internet users reported Watching video content from sharing services (YouTube, TikTok, etc.) , while 55% were Watching video on demand (from commercial services such as Netflix, Disney+, HBO GO, Amazon Prime). Half of internet users were Watching internet streamed TV (live or catch up from TV broadcasters. Over one quarter (26%) of internet users reported Playing or downloading games. Note that these internet activities were included in the survey for the first time in 2020. See Table 3.1, Table 3.2 and Figure 3.2.

Table 3.2 Individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months classified by types of internet activities, 2020

Table 3.2 Individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months classified by types of internet activities, 2020
% of individuals
	Types of internet activity
	Watching Video on Demand from commercial services	Watching internet streamed TV	Uploading self created content¹	Playing or downloading games	Making an appointment with a practitioner via a website or app	Accessing personal health records online	Using other health services via a website or app	Selling of goods or services²
State	55	50	40	26	16	4	8	8

Sex
Male	57	52	36	26	20	3	11	9
Female	54	49	43	26	14	5	7	7

Age group
16-29	[77]	[67]	[67]	[63]	[22]	[9]	[11]	[1]
30-44	76	66	46	35	19	6	6	12
45-59	49	47	35	21	16	3	10	7
60-74	36	35	33	15	13	3	9	6
Over 75	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Principal economic status
At work	63	58	41	26	18	6	8	10
Unemployed	38	54	43	46	22	0	13	7
Student	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Home duties	36	29	32	15	12	3	6	3
Retired	52	47	29	33	11	1	10	4
Other	55	39	42	25	15	0	10	6

Region
Border	44	47	56	20	7	0	2	9
Midland	41	28	43	33	12	2	8	9
West	47	46	37	15	10	2	6	7
Dublin	64	58	36	27	23	4	10	8
Mid-East	71	56	39	24	22	7	9	7
Mid-West	42	44	38	29	18	8	13	3
South-East	40	44	35	31	9	2	7	8
South-West	58	50	40	25	13	5	8	11

Household composition
1 adult no dependent children	42	39	31	18	15	4	8	6
2 adults no dependent children	49	44	37	18	19	4	8	6
3 or more adults no dependent children	53	46	43	25	14	2	6	5
1 adult with dependent children	59	69	54	22	19	14	13	7
2 adults with dependent children	73	61	43	39	16	3	8	12
3 or more adults with dependent children	62	58	38	38	16	6	12	9

Deprivation quintile
First quintile - very disadvantaged	42	40	40	32	13	0	9	8
Second quintile - disadvantaged	52	48	32	24	15	5	11	7
Third quintile - average	55	48	39	28	13	5	4	6
Fourth quintile - affluent	58	52	43	24	16	5	10	9
Fifth quintile - very affluent	67	61	43	21	24	6	7	8
¹Uploading self-created content (text, photos, music, videos, software etc.) to any website to be shared.
²Examples include online auctions and Ebay.
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16 years and over who used the internet in the previous 3 months.
Note 3: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e. less than 30.
Note 4: Figures in parentheses [ ] indicate percentages based on small numbers, and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics - Households 2020 Table 3.2 (XLS 14KB)

	2020
Watching Video on Demand from commercial services	55
Watching internet streamed TV	50
Uploading self created content	40
Playing or downloading games	26
Making an appointment with a practitioner via a website or app	16
Accessing personal health records online	4
Using other health services via a website or app	8
Selling of goods or services	8

The survey shows that there was a sharp decrease in the numbers of persons who bought or renewed existing insurance policies online in 2020 – 22% of internet users who recently used the internet compared with 42% of those internet users in 2019. Only 14% of Unemployed persons bought or renewed existing insurance policies, compared with 31% in 2019. This decrease could be related to the pandemic restrictions where some forms of insurance (e.g. travel insurance) may not have been seen as necessary for this year. See Table 3.3.

Table 3.3 Individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months by type of financial activity, 2020

Table 3.3 Individuals who used the internet in the last 3 months by type of financial activity, 2019 and 2020
% of individuals
	Type of financial activity
	Buying or selling shares, bonds etc.		Buying or renewing existing insurance policies¹		Taking a loan, mortgage or arranging credit from banks
	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020
State	3	2	42	22	5	4

Sex
Male	5	3	43	26	6	4
Female	2	2	42	18	4	4

Age group
16-29	[2]	[2]	[26]	[32]	[4]	[2]
30-44	4	2	49	24	7	7
45-59	3	3	45	20	5	4
60-74	3	1	39	19	2	1
Over 75	*	*	*	*	*	*

Principal economic status
At work	4	3	50	25	7	0
Unemployed	2	0	31	14	2	3
Student	*	*	*	*	*	*
Home duties	3	1	39	18	1	1
Retired	3	1	31	12	3	3
Other	0	0	24	17	1	1

Region
Border	0	1	27	24	2	5
Midland	0	0	45	16	7	5
West	4	4	46	22	8	4
Dublin	4	2	48	24	5	4
Mid-East	4	3	37	26	4	5
Mid-West	3	3	44	19	5	1
South-East	3	2	41	20	2	4
South-West	5	2	40	16	5	2

Household composition
1 adult no dependent children	3	3	41	17	5	2
2 adults no dependent children	4	1	44	24	3	3
3 or more adults no dependent children	2	0	36	21	3	5
1 adult with dependent children	2	0	33	17	3	6
2 adults with dependent children	4	4	49	25	7	5
3 or more adults with dependent children	2	1	33	27	6	3
¹Includes those offered as a package together with another service (e.g. travel insurance offered together with a plane ticket)
Note 1: Data are subject to sampling and other survey errors, which are relatively greater in respect of smaller values.
Note 2: Individuals represent all individuals aged 16 years and over who used the internet in the previous 3 months.
Note 3: n/a denotes breakdown not available for 2019.
Note 4: * Sample occurrence too small for estimation, i.e., less than 30.
Note 5: Figures in parentheses [ ] indicate percentages based on small numbers, and are, therefore, subject to a wide margin of error.

Open in Excel: Information Society Statistics - Households 2020 Table 3.3 (XLS 13KB)

Information Society Statistics - Households 2020