The number of internet users has exceeded 51% of all people on Earth while the average amount of time spent online has increased to 6.3 hours. Over 25 years, 3.8 billion people migrated online.
The majority of ‘migrants’ live in China, India and the United States. Russia comes seventh, according to an annual survey by Bond Capital founder Mary Meeker. The ‘queen of the internet’ has been releasing her forecasts since 1995 and they are highly anticipated by the entire digital industry. According to Mary Meeker’s findings, in 2018 the number of people actively working and relaxing online was by 6% higher than the year before. In 2017 the internet had 3.6 billion active users, or 49% of the world population. However, now the growth rate will slow down.
Most common internet access devices are smart phones and TV boxes; most popular types of content are photos and videos. Instagram and YouTube are the most rapidly growing platforms.
The expert notes that for many, internet addiction becomes so strong that they are afraid to let go of their mobile devices. Twenty-six percent of adults say that they are online “almost constantly” and it has a negative impact on the quality of their sleep. It is a challenge for the entire digital world and the companies in the market. To a large extent, it is because of public pressure that Apple, Google, Facebook and YouTube abandoned the concept of user engagement at any cost and developed apps and tools that help against technology addiction.