According to a survey conducted by Ofcom in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020, ** to 24-year-olds made up the largest group of respondents who had used social media sites or apps in the previous week. This was followed by ** to 34-year-olds, comprising the second largest group. Overall, social media use was the highest among young adults, decreasing steadily within the older age groups. Women and social media In the United Kingdom, more women than men had set up their own social network profile according to an ongoing survey conducted from 2010 to 2019. By 2019, ** percent of women and ** percent of men had created social media profiles, a rise from 2010 where only ** and ** percent respectively claimed to have done the same. Despite social media having a comparatively larger female user base as demonstrated by the previous figures, the share of advertising audience in early 2020 was nearly evenly distributed between males and females, particularly in the largest audience group of ** to 44-year-olds. The growth of influencer marketing Social media advertising spend has been on the rise in the UK, reaching over ***** billion British pounds by 2018. This was a near ** percent increase from the previous year. The sector also experienced a ** percent increase in spend per year between 2015 and 2017, further demonstrating the growth of this marketing niche. With the rise of YouTube and Instagram, influencer marketing has come to play a crucial role in social media advertising with 68 percent of PR professionals having allocated between ** thousand and over 100 thousand British pounds for the sector in 2018. In collaborating with influencers who have an established follower-base, marketers are able to quickly build trust, increase reach, and engage audiences effectively.

A reported 95.3 percent of the United Kingdom (UK) population were using the internet in 2022, the same share as 2021.Internet users in Great Britain 46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set in 2016. 41.8 million people in Great Britain used the internet on a daily basis during 2016, the first time the amount cracked the 40 million mark. Methods of accessing the internet In a survey conducted during early 2018, Ofcom found that 48 percent of the 2,392 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is higher in the UK than the EU average, however, as of February 2021, desktop searches still managed to account for the most of the search engine activity in the UK.

46.6 million people used the internet daily in Great Britain during 2020 according to the United Kingdom’s (UK) Office for National Statistics (ONS), breaking the record set one year prior. There were 41.8 million daily internet users in Great Britain during 2016, marking the first time this amount had exceeded 40 million.

Internet access in the UK

While the vast majority of households in the UK are able to go online, 7 percent of all households was without an internet connection as of 2019, according to the ONS. Eurostat estimate the figure to be higher, at 96 percent of households with an internet connection, above the EU average of 90 percent.

Methods of accessing the internet

In a survey conducted during early 2020, Ofcom found that 60 percent of the 2,419 respondents indicated that their smartphone was the most important device they use to access the internet, at home or elsewhere. Mobile internet usage penetration is indeed high in the UK compared to the EU average, and as of January 2020 accounted for the majority of activity for search engines in the UK.

** percent of households in the United Kingdom (UK) have *** mobile phones, according to figures from Ofcom. Just *** percent of households are without a mobile phone, while *** in **** have **** or more mobile phones in the house. Mobile in the United Kingdom In 2019, there were ***** million mobile subscriptions in the UK, across the entire population of **** million inhabitants. Most mobile phone users are smartphone users, with the penetration rate of smartphones expected to reach **** percent by 2025. Apple has been the most popular mobile device vendor since 2010, with a share just under ** percent as of 2020. Mobile use across the United KingdomMost smartphone owners in the UK spend the majority of their smartphone activity time using search engines or checking their Emails on a weekly basis. Approximately half of all smartphone users visited social networks on a weekly basis. UK smartphone users used messaging apps more than any other app category in 2017.

A September to November 2024 survey of UK adults aged 16 years and older found that nearly a quarter of respondents had ever played games on a gaming console. This represents a one percentage point decline compared to the previous survey period. Console gaming is the second-most popular type of video gaming in the UK, ranking only behind mobile gaming in terms of audience reach.

Smart TVs – televisions that can run apps and access the internet – can be found in an increasingly large number of households in the United Kingdom (UK). In 2014 just ** percent of households in the UK owned a Smart TV, whereas, in 2024, approximately ** percent of households reported owning a Smart TV. Smart TVs as connected devicesUnlike conventional television sets, Smart TVs can do much more than just receive broadcast signals and display recorded media from a connected device. An increasing number of UK residents use Smart TVs to go online, with as much as ** percent of total time online being spent on Smart TVs. Smart and Ultra HD TVs dominate total shipments   The penetration rate of Smart TVs have cracked the ** percent mark, and it would be reasonable to expect that it will grow considerably based on the TV shipment figures. In the fourth quarter of 2018, **** percent of all televisions shipped in Western Europe were Smart TVs, and ** percent were Ultra High Definition sets. 

The statistic shows sources of celebrity news and gossip for internet users in selected countries in 2015. Among internet users from the United States, 16 percent named TV as their main source of celebrity news and gossip, whereas 24 percent stated the internet was their main source of such information.

Smartphone usage in the United Kingdom has increased across all age ranges since 2012, most noticeably among those aged 55-64 years of age. Whereas just nine percent of mobile phone users aged 55 to 64 years used a smartphone in 2012, this number rose to over 90 percent by 2023 and reached 93 percent in 2024. Smartphones are becoming more accessibleAs well as becoming more ubiquitous, smartphones are also becoming more accessible. In terms of price, the global average selling price of smartphones has fallen from 336.8 U.S. dollars in 2010, to 276.20 U.S. dollars in 2015. However, estimates available from 2019 predicted that the average selling price of smartphones worldwide will increase again and reach 317 U.S. dollars by 2021. The average selling price for smartphones in Europe was at around 373 euros in 2019. Smartphone usage in the UK    Smartphones are the Swiss army knife of digital devices, with their capabilities limited by the creativity of developers as much as it is the technology contained in the phone. In 2017, communications were the most popular ways to use a phone, however, 87 percent of users report using camera apps frequently, 85 percent report frequent use of browser apps, and 68 percent report frequent use of navigation apps.

Openreach's fiber broadband network was by far the largest in the United Kingdom as of July 2025, reaching **** million premises. Openreach was created in 2006, following an agreement between incumbent network operator British Telecom (now BT Group) and regulator Ofcom. Openreach remains wholly owned by BT, but acts as a separate entity in providing network access to over *** communications providers. Numerous alternative UK fiber network operators exist, often providing fiber broadband in areas not yet covered by Openreach.

In 2022, ******* was the most used social platform among children and teenagers in the United Kingdom, with ** percent of respondents stating that they had used the service. ******** ranked second, with ** percent of kids and teens in the UK being active on the platform. Additionally, usage of TikTok and Snapchat increased from 2021 to 2021 among those aged three to 17 in the UK. Youth accounts on the rise again From ** percent in 2012, the share of children aged 12 to 15 years of age with a social media account fell to ** percent in 2018, but increased again in 2020, peaking at ** percent. Despite some major social networks setting minimum age limits in their terms of service, ** percent of children aged 5 to 7 years had a social media account in 2020, according to Ofcom. Facebook falling out of favor with teens Among teens and young adults in the United States, Youtube and Instagram had a higher reach than any other social network, slightly ahead of Facebook and Snapchat. When you remove young adults from the picture, Snapchat is clearly the most important social network and Facebook barely comes into the equation. Since the Fall/Autumn period of 2017, less than ten percent of teens in the United States said Facebook was their most important social network, compared with more than ** percent of teens who nominated Snapchat. The new hot trend among Gen Z is TikTok, selected by ** percent of respondents and ranking second.

There is no denying that the way people consume newspapers and magazines has changed. As of 2020, more than two thirds of individuals in Great Britain were either reading or downloading online news, newspapers or magazines. This was more than three times the share of online readers as compared to 2007. The share of UK online readers was higher than the European Union (EU 28) average. As of February 2019, BBC News online had the highest share of readers in the UK, with the Guardian and Mail Online coming in as second and third choice.

How do people like their news?

According to an Ofcom study, both television and the internet were more likely to be a source of news over newspapers across all UK countries. In fact, in Northern Ireland, individuals were more likely to receive news via word of mouth rather than through a physical newspaper or printed magazine.

Social media and news

In some European countries, approximately half of news consumers used Facebook as a source of news, while in the UK, it was approximately one quarter of news consumers. In the UK, Facebook was the leading social media network as a source for news, followed by Twitter and YouTube.