More Over 75’s & Disabled People Using the Web.
The proportion of over 75’s and disabled people are now regularly using the web, reaching 50% for the first time. This according to a study by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The main points from the survey include:
> 92% of adults in the UK were recent internet users in 2020, up from 91% in 2019.
> Almost all adults aged 16 to 44 years in the UK were recent internet users (99%), compared with 54% of adults aged 75 years and over.
> While there has been little change in internet use for adults aged 16 to 44 years in recent years, the proportion of those aged 75 years and over who are recent internet users nearly doubled since 2013, from 29% to 54% in 2020.
> 6.3% of adults in the UK had never used the internet in 2020, down from 7.5% in 2019.
> The number of disabled adults who were recent internet users in 2020 reached almost 11 million, 81% of disabled adults; up from just over 10 million (78% of disabled adults) in 2019.
> London continued to be the UK region with the highest recent internet use (95%) in 2020, while Northern Ireland remained the lowest at 88%.
The ONS has said that because the survey was conducted between January and March 2020, prior to the first lockdown, that the data doesn’t necessarily show the pandemic has changed internet usage.
The survey data for this release are collected by the Labour Force Survey (LFS). There are indications that participation in the LFS was affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, from early March 2020.
As the survey data for this release were collected from January to March 2020, there could be some impact from the pandemic on the survey results. The larger than usual growth in internet use by adults aged 75 years and over, could be partly related to the effects of the beginning of the pandemic and we, therefore, advise that results for this age group are treated with a degree of caution.