A new survey has found that employee Internet usage has nearly doubled during the past decade.
Today’s Web surfer now spends nearly two full workdays (13 hours) a week on the Web, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. That’s compared to an average of seven hours back in 2000.
Usage varies greatly, however; one in five (20%) of adult Internet users are online for only two hours or less a week while one in seven (14%) are spending 24 or more hours a week online.
Some background on the study: Harris polled 2,029 adults by telephone between July 7 and 12 and October 13 and 18, 2009.
Over the years the average hours spent online have increased from seven hours in the years 1999 – 2002, to between 8 and 9 hours in 2003 – 2006.
In 2007, it jumped to 11 hours. Last year (in October, after the financial crisis broke and before the presidential election) Internet users were online for 14 hours a week, double the usage from 1999 – 2002.
Possible reasons for the increase: a greater reliance on the Web for news and entertainment (vs. TV and newspapers), and the increased popularity of social networking sites.
If your employers are online that often, how much surfing is going on during office hours? Previous surveys have said workers spend as much as one fifth of their workdays surfing the Web for personal reasons.
