‘High level’ confidence in internet

Concern about the internet has fallen dramatically even though a quarter of social networks say their personal information could be seen by strangers, research has found.

Eight in 10 adults go online on any device

Anxiety among UK adults about the internet has fallen from seven in 10 (70 per cent) in 2005 to 50 per cent in 2011, with confidence online at a “high level” of 84 per cent, according to Ofcom’s Adults Media Use and Attitudes report.

The fall in concern comes as people are spending increasing amounts of time on the internet, with the average user now online for more than 15 hours each week, an increase of five hours since 2005, the study said.

Almost eight in 10 adults (79 per cent) now go online on any device in any location, up by 20 per cent compared to 2005.

Social networking is continuing to grow in popularity and 59 per cent of adult internet users say they now have a profile on a social networking site.

However, the increase has slowed, with a rise of five percentage points since 2010 compared with increases of 10 percentage points in 2010 and 22 percentage points in 2009.

Among those with a profile, social networking is increasingly becoming a part of their daily lives, with 67 per cent saying they visited the sites every day – up from 30 per cent in 2007.

Accessing social media on a weekly basis from a mobile phone has almost doubled in the past year from 15 per cent in 2010 to 29 per cent in 2011.

The increase is even greater among smartphone users, up from 39 per cent in 2010 to 55 per cent in 2011.

However, a quarter of social networks in the UK (26 per cent) say their personal information, such as their date of birth or hometown, could potentially be seen by people they do not know.

About one in six users of social networking sites (16 per cent) say they share their contact details with anyone or friends of friends.