UK spending half an hour longer on-line than in pandemic, says Ofcom

UK adults spent over half an hour longer on-line daily in 2025 than they did in the course of the pandemic, in keeping with an annual survey of web habits by the regulator Ofcom.

The On-line Nation report discovered on common, folks within the UK spent 4 hours and half-hour on-line daily in 2025 – 31 minutes longer than in 2021.

Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman informed the BBC this was not an issue in itself, however what mattered was “what this time is displacing and the way this may occasionally hurt psychological well being”.

He added the “excellent news” was society was “starting to query on-line time extra critically”.

In a yr the place the key UK Netflix drama Adolescence gained reward and politicial consideration for shining a light-weight on misogynistic on-line content material, the survey discovered adults had been feeling much less optimistic concerning the affect of the web total.

Solely a 3rd (33%) stated they felt it was “good for society” – down from 40% in 2024.

Nonetheless, practically two thirds of individuals nonetheless believed the advantages of being on-line outweighed the dangers.

And plenty of adults stated they discovered the web to be a supply of creativity, with roughly three quarters agreeing being on-line helped them to broaden their understanding of the world.

The report additionally explored youngsters’s experiences of being on-line.

Whereas greater than eight in ten aged 8-17 stated they had been proud of the period of time they spent on the web, additionally they recognised there have been destructive impacts of endlessly scrolling on smartphones.

The time period “mind rot” was utilized by some youngsters surveyed to explain the sensation they had been left with after spending too lengthy on their gadgets.

It has turn into a well-liked phrase to explain overconsuming on-line posts and movies thought-about to be the other of mentally difficult.

And Ofcom discovered throughout 4 of the primary providers utilized by youngsters – YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok and WhatsApp – as much as 1 / 4 of the time 8 to 14-year-olds spent on-line was between 2100 and 0500.

From 25 July, Ofcom required web sites working within the UK with pornographic content material to “robustly” age-check customers, beneath the On-line Security Act.

Some folks started utilizing a digital non-public community (VPN) at the moment – instruments which might disguise your location on-line to assist you to use the web as if you might be out of the country.

The rise signifies persons are doubtless utilizing them to bypass necessities of the Act.

After the age checks turned obligatory, the survey stated VPN use greater than doubled, rising from roughly 650,000 every day customers earlier than July and peaking at over 1.4 million in mid-August

Nevertheless it additionally discovered the quantity had since declined to round 900,000 in November.

The report additionally discovered 69% of kids aged 13 to 17 stated they used on-line providers to assist with their wellbeing, both to chill out or enhance their temper.

Greater than half named ASMR as a software that they had utilized in specific to assist them chill out.

These movies turned an internet phenomenon greater than a decade in the past – which some folks declare causes them to really feel a tingling sensation.

It has led to a complete trade of on-line creators making particular content material considered on platforms comparable to YouTube.

However youngsters weren’t solely optimistic about their on-line experiences.

Seventy p.c stated that they had points with self-improvement media – involving poisonous messaging or physique shaming.