iWorld
Time spent online doubles in a decade fuelled by smartphones, tablets: Ofcom
MUMBAI: Ofcom’s Media Use and Attitudes 2015 report, now in its tenth year, shows that Internet users aged 16 and above claimed to spend nearly 10 hours (9 hours and 54 minutes) online each week in 2005. By 2014 it had climbed to over 20 hours and 30 minutes.
The biggest increase in Internet use is cited among 16-24 year olds, almost tripling from 10 hours and 24 minutes each week in 2005 to 27 hours and 36 minutes by the end of 2014.
2014 saw the biggest increase in time spent online in a decade, with Internet users spending over three and a half hours longer online each week than they did in 2013 (20 hours and 30 minutes in 2014, compared to 16 hours and 54 minutes in 2013).
Five years of tablet computing
Increasing take-up of tablets and smartphones is boosting time spent online. Apple’s iPad launched in the UK five years ago this month, alongside Android and other devices, helped to take tablets into the mainstream.
While just five per cent of adults reported using a tablet to go online in 2010, this increased to 39 per cent in 2014. Using a smartphone has more than doubled in five years, from 30 per cent of adults in 2010 to 66 per cent in 2014.
As a result, the amount of time people are online while ‘out and about’ – away from home, work or their place of study – has increased five-fold over the past ten years, from 30 minutes in 2005 to nearly two and a half hours (2 hours and 18 minutes) in 2014.
Overall, the proportion of adults using the Internet has risen by half – from six in ten in 2005 to almost nine in ten today.
Increased mobile and online entertainment
More people are watching TV and video on the Internet. Over a quarter (27 per cent) of Internet users regularly watch TV or films online, compared to one in ten in 2007. This rises to 39 per cent of 16-24 year olds, up from 21 per cent in 2007.
Watching video clips online has almost doubled over the past eight years, from 21 per cent to 39 per cent of Internet users.
The mobile phone is now the primary device used for gaming with over a quarter (26 per cent) of mobile users playing games at least once a week, compared to 17 per cent playing on games consoles. Fifteen per cent of adults now use a tablet for gaming.
The proportion of Internet users saying they regularly play games online has doubled from 10 per cent in 2005 to 22 per cent in 2014.
Surge in instant messaging on mobiles
Instant messaging has become a popular way of keeping in touch, driven by services including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and BBM.
Regular instant messaging on a mobile phone has leapt from 29 per cent of mobile phone users in 2013 to 42 per cent in 2014. Instant messaging across all devices has seen the biggest growth among 25-34 year olds, 80 per cent of Internet users in this age group are instant messaging at least once a week, up from 38 per cent in 2005.
Nearly all mobile phone users are sending text messages (90 per cent in 2014, compared to 70 per cent in 2005). People are also increasingly using their mobile phone to email (52 per cent regularly using their phone to email, compared to five per cent in 2005) or make a phone call over the Internet (VoIP) – 43 per cent in 2014, compared to 27 per cent in 2013.
Social media fans
The use of social media has tripled since 2007, when Ofcom first asked people about their social media habits. Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of Internet users aged 16 and above say they have a social media profile, compared to 22 per cent in 2007.
Some 81 per cent of social media users log into these websites or apps – including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Tumblr – at least once a day, up from 30 per cent in 2007.
Social media has seen the biggest growth among 35-44 year olds, with 80 per cent of Internet users in this age group now on social media, up from just 12 per cent in 2007.
2014 saw a dramatic surge in older people using social media, with nearly half (49 per cent) of 55-64 year olds who go online having a social media profile, up from one third (33 per cent) in 2013.
People still love their TV but mobiles are a must for young people
People are spending more time online but, when asked which device they would miss the most, 37 per cent of adults said they would miss their TV more than any other device.
The mobile phone came a close second with nearly one in three adults (32 per cent) saying it would be the device they would miss the most.
But for 16-24 year olds, the TV came a distant second to their mobile phone. Some 59 per cent of this age group said they would miss their mobile the most, compared to 17 per cent saying TV.
Less concern about being online
The proportion of Internet users aged 16 and above saying they are concerned about the Internet has fallen over the past 10 years, from around 70 per cent in 2005 to 51 per cent in 2014 – stable on 2013.
But Internet users are increasingly likely to agree they should be protected from inappropriate or offensive online content (60 per cent strongly agreed in 2014, compared to 51 per cent in 2013).
There was an increase in concerns about mobile ‘apps’ in 2014, with 28 per cent of app users reporting concerns compared with 20 per cent in 2013. This has been largely driven by issues around security, fraud or privacy, with 20 per cent of users saying they were concerned about these areas, up from 14 per cent in 2013.
The majority of Internet users (68 per cent) are happy to provide personal information online in the belief they will benefit in some way. But more people say they would never provide their credit or debit card details (21 per cent in 2014, compared to 13 per cent in 2013) or their mobile number (26 per cent in 2014, 17 per cent in 2013).
Public and civic activities
People are much more likely to go online for public or civic activities now than they were in 2005.
For example, in 2014 nearly eight in 10 Internet users (78 per cent) said they had gone online to find out about a public service, up from half (49 per cent) in 2005.
More Internet users say they have visited political or campaigning websites, up from 19 per cent in 2005 to 44 per cent in 2014.
Ofcom’s Adults Media Use and Attitudes Report 2015 covers the use and attitudes of UK adults (aged 16 and above) across the Internet, TV, radio, games and mobile phones.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
