A recent online survey conducted by Plusnet via social media has found that one in five people admit to using their mobile internet to cheat on pub quizzes, highlighting that it is not Mr Smith that is the lynchpin of the team but in fact Dr G.OOgle and his associate Mr B. Ing. This revelation follows on the back of our survey earlier this year that found that 63% of Dads used the internet to help kids with their homework. So what other admissions did our survey uncover? 
© 2013 Instant Quizzes, http://www.instant-quizzes.co.uk/. All rights reserved.
- Nearly three-quarters of people admit to using the internet for personal use whilst at work
- 67% admit to using social media to find out more about a person they have just met
- Over one in every two people employ a ‘try-before-we-buy’ scheme by visiting stores to test or try on products before purchasing from the comfort of our own living rooms
- We don’t like our pride taking a hit with 83% of us admitting to using the internet to settle an argument
- Calendars seem to have gone out the window as 61% of us use social media to keep tabs on birthdays and events
We just can’t live without internet
Close to three quarters (74%) of those who answered our survey admitted that they spend more time online than they did five years ago, an indictment of how technologically reliant the current generations are nowadays, be this for work or personal usage. This seems particularly true in the under-30s age bracket (54%). Interestingly, 35-49 year olds spent the least amount of time online, perhaps indicating a bigger work/personal life imbalance and also extra family responsibilities. Despite that though, just under a third of all people (31%) answering the survey admitted they felt they probably spent too much time online.
So where do we use the Internet and what for?
Aside from work and at home, checking the internet on the daily commute (57%) seems to be the most popular location for us to use internet. The largest amount of time that people used the internet for was work where 43% of people used it for four to eight hours. Whilst at work, users don’t just use the internet for work-related activities but also for their own personal usage (74%). Two thirds of people also admitted to using and accessing social media whilst at work. Outside of work, our figures show that:
- 75% of people use social media less than two hours per day, with 5% saying they didn’t use social media at all
- We are consumers of news: 94% of us check a news website at least once per day, with 43% of us spending over an hour reading news online
- An overwhelming majority of people (92%) shopped online for one hour or less per day
- A large number of people do not use the internet for online gaming (43%), whilst only 17% said they gamed for two hours or more.
- People enjoy listening to music, 76% of respondents stating they use their internet to download, stream or access songs at some point each day.
Additional activities our respondents said they used the internet for ranged from financial activities such as checking share prices and online banking, to using Skype with friends and family, reading blogs and websites for sports and health/wellbeing.
How do we access the internet?
Using internet whilst on the move seems to be a growing trend with 85% of users accessing web content via mobile phone. Contrastingly, in our homes and at work, the traditional desktop PC seems to be on the decline with less people (65%) stating that they use one of these than people with laptops (87%). 45% of people responding also owned and used a tablet. Of the other available ways of using the internet, nearly a quarter of people use a gaming console (24%) and almost one fifth (19%) admitting that they use it through their television.
Even on the high street
However, some of this data highlights just how important it is for businesses and people to move with the times and use technology. For instance, in our survey we researched the retail habits of people responding to the survey. In the last few years, we have seen some companies implement what are called ‘concept stores’ or ‘stores of the future’, where products and services in-store a replaced by a digital buying or ordering system. A good example of this is Thomas Cook, who recently moved away from stacks of brochures and the sit down travel agent in their stores. Instead, shelves of brochures have now been replaced with iPads connected to their online brochure store and website, so much so it looks like you are heading into a mobile phone shop. Those people who like the smiley face and warmth of the travel agent can still get that service but this transformation represents a move towards convenience and accessibility. This is represented in the statistics with a 40% improvement in visitors in the age bracket 18-30. 
© Thomas Cook – Thomas Cook Concept Store In fact, it seems that this could be the new way forward with 57% of us admitting that we use the internet to compare prices whilst actually stood in the stores. This is also matched by the fact that a similar number of people (56%) like to try things on before going home and purchasing if we like the product. Nearly two-thirds of us (64%) also said that we had used review sites to learn more about products and services before purchasing something. Perhaps this is the way forward and a way to combat reducing footfall on the high street? What do you think?
So what have we learnt?
The main thing we have learnt from this survey is how vast and significant the internet is in our lives. Whilst there are limitations in the survey in that those respondents from Twitter are likely to be tech savvy skewing the results slightly, the very fact that some people confirmed they did virtually everything online says a lot. We can have the internet when we want it, where we want it and for anything we want. But with the growth of the eCommerce market, companies are looking to combat this on the high street by incorporating internet, Wi-Fi and technology into stores to encourage sales and also for customer convenience. As described by Joanna Wild, the Retail Director of Thomas Cook: “it’s more Apple than travel.” What do you think to our results? Is there anything that has come out of our survey that has surprised you? Is the ‘store of the future’ indeed the future and have you ever used one? Let us know by adding your comment below. 
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