Our love affair with the internet is growing

We do it in bed, at work, in the kitchen, the bathroom and in front of the TV... and on the loo.

Gympie West's Micah, Kathy, Rob and Mitchell Pitt, with their dog Winston, enjoying their devices through the National Broadband Network. Picture: Jacob Carson

WE do it in bed, at work, in the kitchen, the bathroom and in front of the TV.

A third of us do it on the toilet too.

Australia's love affair with the internet is growing, with regional people accounting for the biggest increase in use.

The NBN Broadband Index study found Australians spent 22 days more on the internet last year than we did in 2014.

Email is most popular for Gen X and Baby Boomers.

People aged 18-34 cannot get enough of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to stay in touch.

Social media is still popular with the older generations but more than 90% of Gen Z and Y use it.

Gen Z is also keen on instant messaging platforms such as Facetime, Snapchat and WhatsApp to communicate.

And about half of all Aussies are making video calls using platforms such as Skype and Facetime.

The biggest increase in internet use has occurred in regional areas, where people are spending 1.7 hours more per weekday on their home internet than they did two years ago.

NBN spokeswoman Kelly Stevens said there was no doubt the NBN was bridging the digital divide between urban and regional Australia.

"Our research found NBN-connected regional consumers found the internet a far more empowering tool for job productivity and professional development than those not on the NBN, and they're more likely to say it's vital to their job or business," Ms Stevens said.

"In addition to the internet being crucial for work-related functions, people in regional areas also use it far more to connect with their community and to shop."

The NBN-commissioned research, conducted by an independent research agency, surveyed 10,348 Australians across metropolitan, regional and remote areas, including those connected to the NBN and those not connected.

"Most of us are getting online when we open our eyes in the morning and before we go to sleep, while a quarter of us (28%) hit the internet when we wake in the night," Ms Stevens said.

"Almost three quarters of us (73%) do it while watching TV, a third while cooking (34%) and some of us have even confessed to being online on the loo (33%)." - ARM NEWSDESK

Find out how you can share in $150,000 in grants for innovation involving the NBN.