5 Key Findings in Ofcom's Online Nation Report

Ofcom’s Online Nation report is an annual publication that looks at what people are doing online, how they are served by online content providers and platforms, and their attitudes to and experiences of using the internet. Lily Boyd from our media team picks out five key findings in Ofcom’s Online Nation report.

Reddit was the fastest-growing large social media platform in the UK, reaching more than half of UK online adults by June 2024.

Reddit experienced a 47% year-on-year increase in reach among UK online adults, rising to 22.9 million (48% UK online adults) by May 2024 (May 2023: 15.6m, 33%), overtaking X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn to become the fifth highest-reaching social media service among adults.

18-24-year-old TikTok and Snapchat visitors spent on average about an hour per day on each service.

About three-quarters (74%, 2.0m) of online 18-24-year-olds visited TikTok in May 2024, spending an average of 64 minutes per day on the service and accounting for 39% of the total time UK adults spent on the service.

In May 2024, UK adults spent an average of 4 hours 20 minutes a day online, across smartphones, tablets, and computers.

Young adults spent the most time online, with 18-24-year-olds spending a daily average of 6 hours 1 minute online, and those aged 65+ spending the least time online (3 hours 10 minutes). Women spent more time online than men across all adult age groups.

Almost half (48%) of the time UK adults spend online is on services owned by Alphabet or Meta.

In May 2024, UK adults spent an average of 2 hours 4 minutes a day on services owned by these two organisations. Alphabet (Google's parent company) remains the highest reaching organisation visited by almost all online adults (99%), with 94% visiting YouTube.? Meta was not far behind as the second highest reaching organisation (96%). Meta-owned platforms include Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Amazon remained the UK’s leading online retailer visited by 35% UK online adults per day in May 2024.

Eighty-eight per cent (41.5m) of UK online adults visited Amazon in May 2024, consistent with the same period in the previous two years.

“Virtually all our clients now use social media a significant change in the landscape with the rise of Reddit and the increasing popularity of Bluesky with many users are migrating from X (formerly Twitter) due to dissatisfaction with the platform. At a time of dynamic change there is one constant which is the dominance of Alphabet and Meta and the audience to their respective platforms.”

- Lily Boyd , Media Executive at Ardmore Advertising & Marketing

If you would like to know more about how your brand can tap into the unique opportunities presented by digital media, please contact our team. We’re passionate about media and would be delighted to help you navigate the evolving media landscape and find the best ways to engage with your target audience.

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Source: A range of Ofcom and third-party sources have been used to provide context and information on the UK’s use of online services and people’s experiences of being online. Two sources played a key role in the production of this report: Ofcom’s Online Experiences Tracker (OET) and Ipsos iris The Online Experiences Tracker (OET) is Ofcom’s biannual quantitative tracking survey that examines people’s attitudes to and experiences of using online services. Ipsos iris is the UKOM-endorsed currency for the measurement of online audiences and provides data that is representative of the UK online adult (18+) population, giving a snapshot of both reach and time spent on websites and apps, across smartphones, tablets, and computers in May 2024. It compares year-on-year trends since May 2022, and is used to explore monthly trends where notable changes are occurring.

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