Internet As Cure For Boredom: Survey Finds More Than Half Go Online For Fun & To Kill Time
If you still think people are task-oriented when they’re spending time on the Internet, you’re behind the times. Increasingly, adults, especially young adults, report that they get online for no reason at all, instead looking for entertainment and diversion, according to the latest report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. Internet […]
Spy on Any Website
If you still think people are task-oriented when they’re spending time on the Internet, you’re behind the times. Increasingly, adults, especially young adults, report that they get online for no reason at all, instead looking for entertainment and diversion, according to the latest report from the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
Internet Surfers Just Wanna Have Fun
Pew reported that 58% of all adults (or 74% of online adults) it surveyed reported using the Internet this way in general:
When the organization first asked this question in 2000, only 29% of adults (63% of online adults) said they did this.
The trend is even more pronounced in young adults aged 18 to 34. In 2000, only 47 percent of Internet users in this age group went online “just for fun.” In the most recent survey, that number had climbed 34 points to 81 percent.
Here’s a breakdown of usage by age, sex and gender:
The results come from a survey conducted from July 5 to August 26 of this year, among 2,260 adults age 18 and over. Surveys were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and mobile phones. The margin of error for the sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Yesterday, The Internet Was Such An Easy Way To Play
How often does this type of behavior happen? A second question asked if people killed time “yesterday” to get a sense of how common this is:
The percentages are lower — only 34% of all adults said they killed time on the Internet “yesterday” rather than 58% in general. But the percentage answering this way has been steadily growing.
Recommended Articles
Marketers: Appeal To The Bored!
The dramatic change is attributed to the rise of broadband access, which has made getting online a much more casual task. Additionally, the broadband access has enabled people to consumer more video content, and the growth of social networks has also been a factor.
Pew noted that the growth in the Internet as a “fun” destination may make it a stronger competitor to TV or other leisure activities. It could also make it a stronger competitor for marketing dollars.
For marketers, the lesson might be that the way to forge relationships with young people online is to provide them with entertaining and diverting experiences such as viral videos, games and the like.
MarTech is owned by Semrush. We remain committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.
View Author Profile
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Google's "preferred sources" feature allows users to customize their search results by selecting news outlets they want to see more often in the "Top Stories" section.
Add Martech NowRelated Articles
AI needs clear inputs to produce consistent outputs. Here’s how to structure brand voice so it works across prompts, tools, and teams.
Read More
ROAS and CPA targets don’t tell you where to invest. Use marginal returns and contribution profit to guide smarter capital allocation decisions.
Read More
Fix inconsistent names, titles and company fields using AI and a spreadsheet, improve personalization and segmentation before you launch.
Read More
The entry-level hiring gap is widening as AI automates foundational tasks. How can leaders bridge the talent divide and protect the marketing pipeline?
Read MoreRelated Articles
AI needs clear inputs to produce consistent outputs. Here’s how to structure brand voice so it works across prompts, tools, and teams.
Read More
ROAS and CPA targets don’t tell you where to invest. Use marginal returns and contribution profit to guide smarter capital allocation decisions.
Read More
Fix inconsistent names, titles and company fields using AI and a spreadsheet, improve personalization and segmentation before you launch.
Read More
The entry-level hiring gap is widening as AI automates foundational tasks. How can leaders bridge the talent divide and protect the marketing pipeline?
Read More