Internet addiction is one of the great signs of our era and, despite the fact that it may seem otherwise to many, Spain is one of the countries that is doing the best with it, since Iberian Internet users only spend 345 minutes a day using the Internet, a fairly low average and that places them at the bottom of the ranking, according to data collected by Atlas VPN in a worldwide survey of users between 16 and 64 years of age.
In other words, Spaniards spend 5 hours and 45 minutes using the Internet daily, placing Spain even below the world average (397 minutes), and only ahead of countries like Switzerland, Belgium or France. Interestingly, China also has quite low numbers and Japan closes the list with 225 minutes per day of Internet consumption.
On the opposite side is South Africa, being the country where its inhabitants spend more time connected: at least 9.5 hours a day, being the highest figure on the entire planet and exceeding the average for the entire planet by three hours, such and as indicated by the data collected by the survey.
The explanation is that in 2020 up to 70% of South Africans had access to the Internet, according to data from the World Bank. The figure could be higher now, given the increasing penetration of the Internet not only in the country, but throughout the African continent.
In 2023, South Africa had 43.48 million Internet users -its total population is 60.14 million-, representing a penetration of 72.3%. The country's government wants all homes to have a stable connection for next year, which could multiply the figures.
In addition, in sub-Saharan Africa, smartphones are becoming the main means of connectivity, a trend that is being detected around the world, according to reports collected by Atlas VPN.
Other interesting data is from US Internet users: “People in the United States also spend more than average time online, spending 419 minutes (6 hours and 59 minutes) per day browsing the Internet, the same as Singaporeans ”, the document explains.
South America also has an important presence in the study on Internet addiction, sneaking in Brazil (9 hours and 32 minutes), Argentina and Colombia -tied at 9 hours and 1 minute- as the countries that follow South Africa in average online consumption. every day, also very far from the Spanish figures.
According to the study that published these data, getting informed (57.8%), keeping in touch with friends and family (53.7%), keeping up to date with news and events (50.9%), watching videos (49.7 %) and knowing how to do things (47.6%) are the top five reasons people spend time online.
In conclusion, the study indicates that globally the average time spent online has been declining as the world moves beyond the cyber phase. In 2022, it was 20 minutes, or 4.8%, lower than in 2021. The trend thus contradicts assumptions that we are increasingly using the Internet.
