Brazilians spend more time online than any other country, global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney finds in a new 10-nation study.
The company studied 10,000 consumers who connect to the Internet at least once a week in 10 countries, including the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa and Nigeria.
Internet users in Brazil lead all countries in the amount of time spent online, with a whopping 51 percent saying they are online all day long. This compares with the 10-country average of 28 percent. Nigeria was second with 37 percent of its Internet users on all day. South Africa was not far behind with 35 percent and India shows 31 percent with all day usage.
Japan had the lowest all-day usage, only 13 percent. The U.S. was below the global average at 25 percent.
Who are these continuously connected Internet denizens? A.T. Kearney says about one-third are 26-to-35-year-old adults. Tied for second – each representing 21 percent - are 16-25-year-olds and 36-45-year-olds. Over 50 percent are male and unmarried.
The study shows that even as smartphone usage spreads around the world, nearly two-thirds of the continuously connected still prefer using PCs to connect to the Internet. Developed countries, like Japan (79 percent), had the highest PC connection rates.
Smartphone connections are much more prevalent in emerging markets, such as Nigeria. And, although tablet usage is increasing worldwide, only 12 percent of the continuously connected say they use a tablet to connect to the Internet.
Why do people spend so much time online? The #1 reason is to connect with family and friends. Nearly three-fourths of the continuously connected crowd say they crave connection with others. This is particularly true in India, Nigeria and China where work often takes them far from home. On the flip-side, only one-third of the continuously connected in Japan gives staying connected with family and friends as a reason to be online, perhaps reflecting the social structure in the country.