{"id":4239,"date":"2025-12-10T08:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T08:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/people-spending-even-more-time-online-now-than-during-the-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T08:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T08:58:16","slug":"people-spending-even-more-time-online-now-than-during-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/people-spending-even-more-time-online-now-than-during-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"People spending even more time online now than during the pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>People spending even more time online now than during the pandemic<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-0 bWRWzH\">\n<div class=\"sc-573fa0e8-1 bNZQpT\"><time datetime=\"2025-12-10T00:04:38.897Z\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-2 diehpQ\">8 hours ago<\/time><\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-11 cOQNNv\" readability=\"1\"><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors-contributor-0\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-5 gXJgDY\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><span class=\"sc-573fa0e8-7 gqeTMs\">Laura Cress<\/span><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors-contributor-0-role-location\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-8 bIfajQ\">Technology reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 eRlINq\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tZGp5E.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0461\/live\/b95236f0-d523-11f0-bf05-2725f8fc0dac.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images Smiling woman using smartphone in bed at night\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"19\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">UK adults spent over half an hour longer online every day in 2025 than they did during the pandemic, according to an annual survey of internet habits by the regulator Ofcom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The Online Nation report found on average, people in the UK spent four hours and 30 minutes online every day in 2025 &#8211; 31 minutes longer than in 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman told the BBC this was not a problem in itself, but what mattered was &#8220;what this time is displacing and how this may harm mental health&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">He added the &#8220;good news&#8221; was society was &#8220;beginning to question online time more critically&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"20\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In a year where the major UK Netflix drama Adolescence won praise and politicial attention for shining a light on misogynistic online content, the survey found adults were feeling less positive about the impact of the internet overall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Only a third (33%) said they felt it was &#8220;good for society&#8221; \u2013 down from 40% in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">However, nearly two thirds of people still believed the benefits of being online outweighed the risks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">And many adults said they found the internet to be a source of creativity, with roughly three quarters agreeing being online helped them to broaden their understanding of the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 gXmhTb\">Children wary of &#8216;brain rot&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"22\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The report also explored children&#8217;s experiences of being online.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">While more than eight in ten aged 8-17 said they were happy with the amount of time they spent on the internet, they also recognised there were negative impacts of endlessly scrolling on smartphones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The term &#8220;brain rot&#8221; was used by some children surveyed to describe the feeling they were left with after spending too long on their devices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">It has become a popular phrase to describe overconsuming online posts and videos considered to be the opposite of mentally challenging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">And Ofcom found across four of the main services used by children &#8211; YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp \u2013 up to a quarter of the time 8 to 14-year-olds spent online was between 2100 and 0500.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 gXmhTb\">VPN use more than doubles<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"24\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">From 25 July, Ofcom required websites operating in the UK with pornographic content to &#8220;robustly&#8221; age-check users, under the Online Safety Act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Some people began using a virtual private network (VPN) at this time &#8211; tools which can disguise your location online to allow you to use the internet as though you are in another country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The increase indicates people are likely using them to bypass requirements of the Act.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">After the age checks became mandatory, the survey said VPN use more than doubled, rising from roughly 650,000 daily users before July and peaking at over 1.4 million in mid-August<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">But it also found the number had since declined to around 900,000 in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 gXmhTb\">ASMR &#8216;relaxing&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\" readability=\"22\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The report also found 69% of children aged 13 to 17 said they used online services to help with their wellbeing, either to relax or improve their mood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">More than half named ASMR as a tool they had used in particular to help them relax.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">These videos became an online phenomenon more than a decade ago &#8211; which some people claim causes them to feel a tingling sensation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">It has led to an entire industry of online creators making special content viewed on platforms such as YouTube. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">But children were not solely positive about their online experiences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Seventy percent said they had issues with self-improvement media &#8211; involving toxic messaging or body shaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 GunZh\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/tZGp5E.png\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A green promotional banner with black squares and rectangles forming pixels, moving in from the right. The text says: \u201cTech Decoded: The world\u2019s biggest tech news in your inbox every Monday.\u201d\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Published at Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:04:38 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People spending even more time online now than during the pandemic 8 hours ago Laura CressTechnology reporter Getty Images UK adults spent over half an hour longer online every day in 2025 than they did during the pandemic, according to an annual survey of internet habits by the regulator Ofcom. The Online Nation report found&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/people-spending-even-more-time-online-now-than-during-the-pandemic\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">People spending even more time online now than during the pandemic<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}