People in the United Kingdom Spent 37 Billion Hours Online in 2012

The latest Experian Hitwise statistics have revealed that the UK spent 37 billion hours online in 2012 and 22% of all that time was spent on a social network (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc.), which equates to about 13 minutes of every hour online. Entertainment websites and online shopping were also popular.

However the time spent on social media and email has declined across all three regions (UK, USA and Australia), with social falling from a high of 25% in 2011 to 22% now. By contrast the proportion of online time that goes to shopping, entertainment, news and lifestyle sites/services has increased.

But it’s important not to read too much into this as Experian’s data does not include visits made from mobile phones or mobile broadband (3G and 4G) connections. Consumers are changing the way they interact with the online world and the rise of mobile internet access means a lot more visits are being made on the move, which could affect the results.

Never the less, if all of that time spent online was distilled into a single hour then this is how it would look.